Pharmacy Assistant Salary in South East
Official ONS earnings for South East, covering 5,000 jobs.
Median salary — South East
£21,927
gross, per year, all employees
▲ 9.2% change on the previous year
Mean
£18,841
Jobs measured
5,000
What a typical pharmacy assistant takes home
On the median of £21,927, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,609
Take-home a year
£19,307
Income Tax
£1,871
National Insurance
£749
What most pharmacy assistants actually earn
Half of pharmacy assistants in South East earn between £10,211 and £23,906. Earning above £23,906 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 “Sales Assistants and Retail Cashiers” group in South East.
The full pay range
Each bar is the salary at that percentile — the 25th means a quarter of pharmacy assistants earn less than this.
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 publishes a sampling error of 13.9% 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 East against anywhere else, so this page doesn't.
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 South East?
The median is £21,927 a year and the mean is £18,841, 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 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, so there is no separate rate for South East.
What is a good Pharmacy Assistant salary?
Half of pharmacy assistants earn between £10,211 and £23,906. Anything above £23,906 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 £6,098 and the lowest quarter under £10,211 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid pharmacy assistants earn?
The top 10% of pharmacy assistants earn more than £29,620 a year, and the top quarter more than £23,906. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Do pharmacy assistants in South East earn more than the UK average?
The median in South East is £21,927 against £20,142 across the UK, 8.9% higher. ONS marks the South East figure as imprecise, so treat the gap as indicative.
Has pharmacy assistant pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +9.2% for this occupation in South East. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many pharmacy assistants are there in South East?
ASHE counts around 5,000 employee jobs in “Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants” (SOC 7114) in South East. 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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