Skip to content
UK salary report · 2026

Journalist Salary in London

Official ONS earnings for London.

ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings Where this comes from →

Median salary — London

£51,548

gross, per year

▲ 31.7% change on the previous year

Mean

£52,655

What most journalists actually earn

Half of journalists in London earn between £35,469 and £60,961. Earning above £60,961 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 “Media Professionals” group in London.

The full pay range

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

10th
£27,562
20th
£32,450
25th
£35,469
30th
£38,026
40th
£41,954
50th
£48,374
60th
£52,732
70th
£57,638
75th
£60,961
80th
£65,388
Check where your salary sits

How London ranks for journalist pay

1st

of 4 GB regions with a published figure

London pays journalists more than anywhere else ONS measures — £24,208 above Yorkshire and The Humber, the lowest of the 4.

Ranking compares published regional medians for the same occupation. It says nothing about cost of living — a higher median doesn't survive contact with rent. The cost of living calculator is the honest next step.

Where this figure comes from

ONS occupation group
Newspaper and periodical journalists and reporters
SOC 2020 code
2492
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.

Journalist salary FAQs

What is the average Journalist salary in London?

The median is £51,548 a year and the mean is £52,655, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.

What is a good Journalist salary?

Half of journalists earn between £35,469 and £60,961. Anything above £60,961 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.

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

Add your salary anonymously

Share this salary data