Headteacher Salary in London
Official ONS earnings for London.
Median salary — London
£71,111
gross, per year, all employees
▼ 0.3% change on the previous year
Mean
£77,967
What a typical headteacher takes home
On the median of £71,111, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£4,317
Take-home a year
£51,802
Income Tax
£15,876
National Insurance
£3,433
What most headteachers actually earn
Half of headteachers in London earn between £35,958 and £65,418. Earning above £65,418 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 “Other Educational Professionals” group in London.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of headteachers earn less than this.
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
ONS publishes a sampling error of 18.0% 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 London against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
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 London?
The median is £71,111 a year and the mean is £77,967, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; ASHE publishes no full-time split at regional level.
How much does a headteacher earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £44.31 excluding overtime, or £43.00 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for London.
What is a good Headteacher salary?
Half of headteachers earn between £35,958 and £65,418. Anything above £65,418 is in the top quarter for the role.
Do headteachers in London earn more than the UK average?
The median in London is £71,111 against £70,977 across the UK, 0.2% higher. ONS marks the London figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has headteacher pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at -0.3% for this occupation in London. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
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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