Pharmacy Assistant Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 53,000 jobs.
Median salary
£20,142
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 26% below the £25,380 median for people working full-time.
▲ 12.2% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£25,380
Part-time only
£14,412
Mean
£20,196
Jobs measured
53,000
What a typical pharmacy assistant takes home
On the full-time median of £25,380, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,816
Take-home a year
£21,793
Income Tax
£2,562
National Insurance
£1,025
What most pharmacy assistants actually earn
Half of pharmacy assistants earn between £13,658 and £25,421. Earning above £25,421 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 pharmacy assistants earn less than this.
Pharmacy Assistant salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| North West | £23,666 | £23,758 |
| East | £22,619 | £21,277 |
| London | £22,545 | £21,627 |
| East Midlands | £22,260 | £21,446 |
| South East | £21,927 | £18,841 |
| South West | £20,290 | £21,919 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £18,684 | £18,567 |
| North East | £18,234 | £17,703 |
| Wales | £17,776 | £19,700 |
| West Midlands | £17,744 | £18,370 |
| Scotland | £16,297 | £18,404 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants
- SOC 2020 code
- 7114
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “pharmacy assistant” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants.
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.
Pharmacy Assistant salary FAQs
What is the average Pharmacy Assistant salary in the UK?
The median is £20,142 a year and the mean is £20,196, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £25,380 and part-time employees £14,412.
How much does a pharmacy assistant earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £13.28 excluding overtime, or £13.44 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Pharmacy Assistant salary?
Half of pharmacy assistants earn between £13,658 and £25,421. Anything above £25,421 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a pharmacy assistant?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of pharmacy assistants earn under £8,992 and the lowest quarter under £13,658 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Has pharmacy assistant pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +12.2% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many pharmacy assistants are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 53,000 employee jobs in “Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants” (SOC 7114) 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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