Retail Assistant Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 895,000 jobs.
Median salary
£14,491
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 72.9% below the £25,056 median for people working full-time.
▲ 6.3% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£25,056
Part-time only
£11,982
Mean
£16,086
Jobs measured
895,000
What a typical retail assistant takes home
On the full-time median of £25,056, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£1,797
Take-home a year
£21,560
Income Tax
£2,497
National Insurance
£999
What most retail assistants actually earn
Half of retail assistants earn between £9,734 and £21,774. Earning above £21,774 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 retail assistants earn less than this.
Retail Assistant salary by region
11 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £15,417 | £17,693 |
| South East | £15,246 | £16,464 |
| East | £15,065 | £16,248 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £14,657 | £16,064 |
| West Midlands | £14,582 | £16,072 |
| Wales | £14,568 | £16,046 |
| East Midlands | £14,531 | £15,886 |
| North West | £14,443 | £15,870 |
| South West | £14,278 | £15,930 |
| North East | £14,015 | £15,781 |
| Scotland | £13,717 | £15,554 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Sales and retail assistants
- SOC 2020 code
- 7111
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional
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.
Retail Assistant salary FAQs
What is the average Retail Assistant salary in the UK?
The median is £14,491 a year and the mean is £16,086, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £25,056 and part-time employees £11,982.
How much does a retail assistant earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £12.62 excluding overtime, or £13.22 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Retail Assistant salary?
Half of retail assistants earn between £9,734 and £21,774. Anything above £21,774 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a retail assistant?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of retail assistants earn under £5,709 and the lowest quarter under £9,734 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid retail assistants earn?
The top 10% of retail assistants earn more than £27,733 a year, and the top quarter more than £21,774. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Which part of the UK pays retail assistants the most?
London, at a median of £15,417, is the highest of the 11 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; Scotland is the lowest at £13,717. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has retail assistant pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +6.3% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many retail assistants are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 895,000 employee jobs in “Sales and retail assistants” (SOC 7111) 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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