Kitchen Assistant Salary in South West
Official ONS earnings for South West, covering 28,000 jobs.
Median salary — South West
£13,896
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 39.1% change on the previous year
Mean
£14,825
Jobs measured
28,000
What a typical kitchen assistant takes home
On the median of £13,896, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,127
Take-home a year
£13,525
Income Tax
£265
National Insurance
£106
What most kitchen assistants actually earn
Half of kitchen assistants in South West earn between £5,962 and £20,447. Earning above £20,447 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 Elementary Services Occupations” group in South West.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of kitchen assistants earn less than this.
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Kitchen and catering assistants
- SOC 2020 code
- 9263
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS publishes a sampling error of 15.3% 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 South West 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.
Kitchen Assistant salary FAQs
What is the average Kitchen Assistant salary in South West?
The median is £13,896 a year and the mean is £14,825, 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 kitchen assistant earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £13.02 excluding overtime, or £13.50 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only, so there is no separate rate for South West.
What is a good Kitchen Assistant salary?
Half of kitchen assistants earn between £5,962 and £20,447. Anything above £20,447 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a kitchen assistant?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of kitchen assistants earn under £2,535 and the lowest quarter under £5,962 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Do kitchen assistants in South West earn more than the UK average?
The median in South West is £13,896 against £13,397 across the UK, 3.7% higher. ONS marks the South West figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has kitchen assistant pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +39.1% for this occupation in South West. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many kitchen assistants are there in South West?
ASHE counts around 28,000 employee jobs in “Kitchen and catering assistants” (SOC 9263) in South West. 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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