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UK salary report · 2026

CNC Machinist Salary in West Midlands

Official ONS earnings for West Midlands, covering 9,000 jobs.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Grouped occupation Imprecise estimate Where this comes from →

Median salary — West Midlands

£33,025

gross, per year, all employees

▲ 4.6% change on the previous year

Mean

£33,158

Jobs measured

9,000

What most cnc machinists actually earn

Half of cnc machinists in West Midlands earn between £29,484 and £47,755. Earning above £47,755 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.

ONS suppresses the detailed spread for this occupation at regional level, so this range describes the wider “Metal Machining, Fitting and Instrument Making Trades” group in West Midlands.

The full pay range

Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of cnc machinists earn less than this.

10th
£22,411
20th
£27,024
25th
£29,484
30th
£30,478
40th
£33,490
50th
£36,155
60th
£39,486
70th
£44,485
75th
£47,755
80th
£50,070
Check where your salary sits

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group
Metal machining setters and setter-operators
SOC 2020 code
5221
Measure
Gross annual pay, all employees
Edition
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional

ONS publishes a sampling error of 13.8% for this figure and asks that anything above 10% is treated as imprecise — too few people in this region answered the survey for this occupation. The figure is shown because it is the one ONS published, but it is not firm enough to rank West Midlands against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.

ONS doesn't measure “cnc machinist” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Metal machining setters and setter-operators”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures metal machining setters and setter-operators.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Figures are estimates from a survey of PAYE jobs and are not financial advice.

CNC Machinist salary FAQs

What is the average CNC Machinist salary in West Midlands?

The median is £33,025 a year and the mean is £33,158, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.

What is a good CNC Machinist salary?

Half of cnc machinists earn between £29,484 and £47,755. Anything above £47,755 is in the top quarter for the role.

Is this figure official?

Yes. It comes from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, an accredited official statistic based on employer PAYE records, covering 9,000 jobs in this occupation.

Official figures show the market. Your salary shows what employers actually pay.

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