Average salary in the South West
Half of full-time employees working in the South West earn less than £39,078 a year and half earn more. ONS figures for the tax year ending 5 April 2026.
About £31,656 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median full-time salary a year, the South West, +5% on last year
£3,257 a month £19.80 an hour About £2,638 a month after tax 1,451 thousand full-time jobs
That's 4% less than the UK median of £40,911, and number 5 of the 12 UK nations and English regions.
Pay range
The dark part is the middle half of full-time employees (25% to 75%); the light bar runs from 10% to 90%. ONS doesn't publish the highest or lowest salary, and x means a figure wasn't published.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £25,000 | £2,083 |
| 20th | £28,398 | £2,367 |
| 25th (P25) | £30,003 | £2,500 |
| 30th | £31,686 | £2,640 |
| 40th | £35,127 | £2,927 |
| Median (50th) | £39,078 | £3,257 |
| 60th | £43,500 | £3,625 |
| 70th | £48,959 | £4,080 |
| 75th (P75) | £52,200 | £4,350 |
| 80th | £56,962 | £4,747 |
| 90th (P90) | £73,149 | £6,096 |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | £41,887 | £49,443 |
| Women | £35,154 | £40,113 |
The median for full-time men is £41,887 and for full-time women £35,154, 16% lower. This compares all full-time jobs, not men and women in the same job. ONS's official gender pay gap uses hourly pay excluding overtime, so it gives a different figure.
Pay by occupation group in the South West
| Occupation group | Median here | UK median |
|---|---|---|
| Managers, directors and senior officials | £51,342 | £60,000 |
| Corporate managers and directors | £55,256 | £67,499 |
| Other managers and proprietors | £42,056 | £43,132 |
| Professional occupations | £47,915 | £50,683 |
| Science, research, engineering and technology professionals | £50,508 | £54,513 |
| Health professionals | £45,252 | £47,984 |
| Teaching and other educational professionals | £45,290 | £49,233 |
| Business, media and public service professionals | £48,830 | £51,601 |
| Associate professional occupations | £38,663 | £40,000 |
| Science, engineering and technology associate professionals | £38,538 | £37,287 |
| Health and social care associate professionals | £28,593 | £30,662 |
| Protective service occupations | £49,412 | £50,566 |
| Culture, media and sports occupations | £34,200* | £37,502 |
| Business and public service associate professionals | £41,483 | £43,264 |
| Administrative and secretarial occupations | £30,726 | £31,918 |
| Administrative occupations | £31,425 | £32,042 |
| Secretarial and related occupations | £27,630 | £29,346 |
| Skilled trades occupations | £36,721 | £37,419 |
| Skilled agricultural and related trades | £28,980 | £29,678 |
| Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades | £38,898 | £40,875 |
| Skilled construction and building trades | £37,296 | £36,959 |
| Textiles, printing and other skilled trades | £31,148 | £31,200 |
| Caring, leisure and other service occupations | £28,545 | £28,497 |
| Caring personal service occupations | £28,408 | £28,276 |
| Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations | £29,728 | £29,358 |
| Community and civil enforcement occupations | x | £33,575 |
| Sales and customer service occupations | £28,051 | £28,276 |
| Sales occupations | £27,417 | £27,532 |
| Customer service occupations | £28,750 | £29,445 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | £35,088 | £34,936 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | £33,428 | £32,767 |
| Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives | £37,203 | £37,730 |
| Elementary occupations | £28,758 | £29,135 |
| Elementary trades and related occupations | £30,796 | £29,853 |
| Elementary administration and service occupations | £28,446 | £29,000 |
* ONS rates these medians as acceptable rather than precise (coefficient of variation over 10%).
Regions are where people work, not where they live. Figures are for full-time employees on adult rates who had been in the same job for more than a year, including bonuses and overtime.
Average salary in other regions
More
Source: ONS, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2026 provisional, Table 14.7a (full-time employees, gross annual pay, UK, tax year ending 5 April 2026). Provisional figures may be revised.