Editor Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 26,000 jobs.
Median salary
£41,583
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 9.4% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£42,451
Part-time only
£31,025
Mean
£47,923
Jobs measured
26,000
What a typical editor takes home
On the median of £41,583, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,788
Take-home a year
£33,459
Income Tax
£5,803
National Insurance
£2,321
What most editors actually earn
Half of editors earn between £33,971 and £54,276. Earning above £54,276 puts you in the top quarter of the profession.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of editors earn less than this.
Editor salary by region
6 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £51,847 | £56,799 |
| West Midlands | £43,100 | £44,617 |
| South East | £37,025 | £37,395 |
| South West | £36,979 | £40,385 |
| East | £36,095 | £34,710 |
| Scotland | £35,842 | £37,715 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Newspaper and periodical editors
- SOC 2020 code
- 2491
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “editor” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Newspaper and periodical editors”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS measures newspaper and periodical editors.
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.
Editor salary FAQs
What is the average Editor salary in the UK?
The median is £41,583 a year and the mean is £47,923, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £42,451 and part-time employees £31,025.
How much does a editor earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £23.48 excluding overtime, or £23.25 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Editor salary?
Half of editors earn between £33,971 and £54,276. Anything above £54,276 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a editor?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of editors earn under £27,000 and the lowest quarter under £33,971 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Has editor pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +9.4% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many editors are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 26,000 employee jobs in “Newspaper and periodical editors” (SOC 2491) in the UK. Self-employed work is not included.
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.
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