Specialist Nurse Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 91,000 jobs.
Median salary
£40,845
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 14% below the £46,580 median for people working full-time.
▼ 0.6% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£46,580
Part-time only
£30,797
Mean
£40,955
Jobs measured
91,000
What a typical specialist nurse takes home
On the full-time median of £46,580, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£3,088
Take-home a year
£37,057
Income Tax
£6,802
National Insurance
£2,721
What most specialist nurses actually earn
Half of specialist nurses earn between £32,689 and £49,803. Earning above £49,803 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 specialist nurses earn less than this.
Specialist Nurse salary by region
8 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £53,502 | £50,803 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £43,535 | £41,995 |
| North West | £43,439 | £44,848 |
| West Midlands | £42,590 | £39,825 |
| South West | £41,645 | £41,040 |
| East | £41,260 | £40,466 |
| South East | £39,744 | £40,251 |
| Scotland | £37,557 | £37,792 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Specialist nurses
- SOC 2020 code
- 2233
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 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.
Specialist Nurse salary FAQs
What is the average Specialist Nurse salary in the UK?
The median is £40,845 a year and the mean is £40,955, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £46,580 and part-time employees £30,797.
How much does a specialist nurse earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £24.92 excluding overtime, or £24.61 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Specialist Nurse salary?
Half of specialist nurses earn between £32,689 and £49,803. Anything above £49,803 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a specialist nurse?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of specialist nurses earn under £24,077 and the lowest quarter under £32,689 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
Which part of the UK pays specialist nurses the most?
London, at a median of £53,502, is the highest of the 3 GB regions with a precise ONS estimate; Scotland is the lowest at £37,557. Regions where ONS marks the figure as imprecise are not ranked.
Has specialist nurse pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at -0.6% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many specialist nurses are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 91,000 employee jobs in “Specialist nurses” (SOC 2233) 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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