Payroll Manager Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 272,000 jobs.
Median salary
£27,743
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 13.8% below the £31,560 median for people working full-time.
▲ 7.1% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£31,560
Part-time only
£15,070
Mean
£28,200
Jobs measured
272,000
What a typical payroll manager takes home
On the full-time median of £31,560, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,187
Take-home a year
£26,243
Income Tax
£3,798
National Insurance
£1,519
What most payroll managers actually earn
Half of payroll managers earn between £19,148 and £35,464. Earning above £35,464 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 payroll managers earn less than this.
Payroll Manager salary by region
10 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £33,217 | £34,124 |
| North East | £28,245 | £28,871 |
| West Midlands | £27,848 | £28,323 |
| Scotland | £27,451 | £29,207 |
| South East | £27,031 | £27,815 |
| North West | £26,923 | £29,411 |
| East | £26,802 | £26,519 |
| South West | £26,234 | £25,854 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £25,692 | £25,366 |
| East Midlands | £25,187 | £24,163 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks
- SOC 2020 code
- 4122
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “payroll manager” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks.
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.
Payroll Manager salary FAQs
What is the average Payroll Manager salary in the UK?
The median is £27,743 a year and the mean is £28,200, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £31,560 and part-time employees £15,070.
How much does a payroll manager earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £16.33 excluding overtime, or £16.65 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Payroll Manager salary?
Half of payroll managers earn between £19,148 and £35,464. Anything above £35,464 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a payroll manager?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of payroll managers earn under £10,000 and the lowest quarter under £19,148 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid payroll managers earn?
The top 10% of payroll managers earn more than £45,998 a year, and the top quarter more than £35,464. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays payroll managers the most?
London, at a median of £33,217, is the highest of the 10 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; East Midlands is the lowest at £25,187. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has payroll manager pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +7.1% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many payroll managers are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 272,000 employee jobs in “Book-keepers, payroll managers and wages clerks” (SOC 4122) 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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