Nurse Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 1,078,000 jobs.
Median salary
£37,597
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 14.6% below the £43,078 median for people working full-time.
▲ 5.8% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£43,078
Part-time only
£24,321
Mean
£36,377
Jobs measured
1,078,000
What a typical nurse takes home
On the full-time median of £43,078, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,878
Take-home a year
£34,536
Income Tax
£6,102
National Insurance
£2,441
What most nurses actually earn
Half of nurses earn between £26,881 and £46,327. Earning above £46,327 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 nurses earn less than this.
Nurse salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £44,742 | £43,771 |
| South East | £38,540 | £37,444 |
| North East | £38,492 | £37,439 |
| Scotland | £37,137 | £36,072 |
| North West | £37,025 | £36,597 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £36,903 | £36,419 |
| South West | £36,665 | £36,212 |
| West Midlands | £36,454 | £36,494 |
| Wales | £36,173 | £35,089 |
| East Midlands | £35,636 | £35,124 |
| East | £26,815 | £27,789 |
Nurse jobs hiring now in the UK
Live adverts. Salaries are shown only where the employer states one.
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Dental Nurse
Bupa Dental Care · Hoe, Dereham
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Physical Healthcare Nurse£19,606
Priory · Earlsheaton, Dewsbury
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Staff Nurse
Ramsay Health Care · Woodston, Peterborough
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Staff Nurse
Ramsay Health Care · Fulford, York
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Staff Nurse
Ramsay Health Care · Fulford, York
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Nursing Professionals
- SOC 2020 code
- 223
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “nurse” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Nursing Professionals”, which includes this role alongside others. 3-digit group: ONS splits nursing into seven unit groups.
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.
Nurse salary FAQs
What is the average Nurse salary in the UK?
The median is £37,597 a year and the mean is £36,377, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £43,078 and part-time employees £24,321.
How much does a nurse earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £22.98 excluding overtime, or £22.76 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Nurse salary?
Half of nurses earn between £26,881 and £46,327. Anything above £46,327 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a nurse?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of nurses earn under £13,978 and the lowest quarter under £26,881 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid nurses earn?
The top 10% of nurses earn more than £54,942 a year, and the top quarter more than £46,327. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays nurses the most?
London, at a median of £44,742, is the highest of the 11 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; East is the lowest at £26,815. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has nurse pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +5.8% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many nurses are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 1,078,000 employee jobs in “Nursing Professionals” (SOC 223) 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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