Youth Worker Salary
Official ONS earnings for the UK, covering 93,000 jobs.
Median salary
£28,284
gross, per year, all employees
Part-time work is common in this occupation, so the figure above sits 19.7% below the £33,852 median for people working full-time.
▲ 2.9% change on the previous year
Full-time only
£33,852
Part-time only
£14,825
Mean
£27,142
Jobs measured
93,000
What a typical youth worker takes home
On the full-time median of £33,852, 2026/27 tax year, England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates, no pension or student loan.
Take-home a month
£2,324
Take-home a year
£27,893
Income Tax
£4,256
National Insurance
£1,703
What most youth workers actually earn
Half of youth workers earn between £16,569 and £35,840. Earning above £35,840 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 youth workers earn less than this.
Youth Worker salary by region
10 of 11 GB regions have a published figure for this occupation.
| Region | Median | Mean |
|---|---|---|
| London | £33,091 | £30,601 |
| East Midlands | £31,594 | £29,703 |
| Wales | £30,372 | £30,227 |
| South East | £29,431 | £27,491 |
| West Midlands | £28,939 | £28,355 |
| Scotland | £28,824 | £27,364 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £27,650 | £26,095 |
| East | £27,184 | £24,417 |
| North West | £26,239 | £26,558 |
| South West | £21,246 | £22,509 |
Where this figure comes from
- ONS occupation group
- Youth and community workers
- SOC 2020 code
- 3221
- Measure
- Gross annual pay, all employees
- Edition
- ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2026 provisional
ONS doesn't measure “youth worker” as its own category. These figures are for the wider group “Youth and community workers”, which includes this role alongside others. ONS group combines youth and community workers.
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.
Youth Worker salary FAQs
What is the average Youth Worker salary in the UK?
The median is £28,284 a year and the mean is £27,142, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. Those cover all employees; full-time employees alone have a median of £33,852 and part-time employees £14,825.
How much does a youth worker earn per hour?
Across the UK the median hourly rate is £16.97 excluding overtime, or £18.10 for full-time employees. ASHE publishes hourly pay by occupation nationally only.
What is a good Youth Worker salary?
Half of youth workers earn between £16,569 and £35,840. Anything above £35,840 is in the top quarter for the role.
What is the starting salary for a youth worker?
ASHE does not record experience, so there is no official starting salary. What it does show is that the lowest-paid 10% of youth workers earn under £6,508 and the lowest quarter under £16,569 — the range a new entrant is most likely to be offered.
How much do the highest-paid youth workers earn?
The top 10% of youth workers earn more than £43,591 a year, and the top quarter more than £35,840. ASHE does not publish figures above the 90th percentile.
Has youth worker pay gone up in the last year?
ASHE puts the year-on-year change in the median at +2.9% for this occupation in the UK. That compares the latest survey with the one before it and is not adjusted for inflation.
How many youth workers are there in the UK?
ASHE counts around 93,000 employee jobs in “Youth and community workers” (SOC 3221) 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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