Headteacher Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 63,000 jobs.
Median salary
£70,977
gross, per year
▲ 2.4% change on the previous year
Mean
£71,776
Jobs measured
63,000
What most headteachers actually earn
Half of headteachers earn between £56,666 and £83,340. Earning above £83,340 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 headteachers earn less than this.
Headteacher salary by region
10 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £82,282 | £83,939 |
| Wales | £76,119 | £78,448 |
| North West | £74,657 | £75,025 |
| North East | £71,526 | £72,099 |
| London | £71,111 | £77,967 |
| Scotland | £67,633 | £64,542 |
| South East | £67,377 | £68,865 |
| East | £66,126 | £73,759 |
| South West | £65,735 | £75,302 |
| East Midlands | £60,776 | £68,895 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Head teachers and principals
- SOC 2020 code
- 2321
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
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.
Headteacher salary FAQs
What is the average Headteacher salary in UK?
The median is £70,977 a year and the mean is £71,776, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is a good Headteacher salary?
Half of headteachers earn between £56,666 and £83,340. Anything above £83,340 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 63,000 jobs in this occupation.
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