Average salary in Wales
Half of full-time employees working in Wales earn less than £37,330 a year and half earn more. ONS figures for the tax year ending 5 April 2026.
About £30,397 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median full-time salary a year, Wales, +4.2% on last year
£3,111 a month £19.14 an hour About £2,533 a month after tax 746 thousand full-time jobs
That's 9% less than the UK median of £40,911, and number 10 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) | £24,972 | £2,081 |
| 20th | £27,590 | £2,299 |
| 25th (P25) | £28,845 | £2,404 |
| 30th | £30,249 | £2,521 |
| 40th | £33,417 | £2,785 |
| Median (50th) | £37,330 | £3,111 |
| 60th | £41,615 | £3,468 |
| 70th | £47,215 | £3,935 |
| 75th (P75) | £50,360 | £4,197 |
| 80th | £53,989 | £4,499 |
| 90th (P90) | £66,125 | £5,510 |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | |
|---|---|---|
| Men | £39,006 | £45,662 |
| Women | £34,914 | £39,060 |
The median for full-time men is £39,006 and for full-time women £34,914, 10% 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 Wales
| Occupation group | Median here | UK median |
|---|---|---|
| Managers, directors and senior officials | £48,115 | £60,000 |
| Corporate managers and directors | £51,350 | £67,499 |
| Other managers and proprietors | £39,703 | £43,132 |
| Professional occupations | £47,473 | £50,683 |
| Science, research, engineering and technology professionals | £48,219 | £54,513 |
| Health professionals | £47,280 | £47,984 |
| Teaching and other educational professionals | £50,300 | £49,233 |
| Business, media and public service professionals | £44,288 | £51,601 |
| Associate professional occupations | £37,554 | £40,000 |
| Science, engineering and technology associate professionals | £35,431 | £37,287 |
| Health and social care associate professionals | £31,102 | £30,662 |
| Protective service occupations | £47,503 | £50,566 |
| Culture, media and sports occupations | £30,041* | £37,502 |
| Business and public service associate professionals | £38,617 | £43,264 |
| Administrative and secretarial occupations | £30,547 | £31,918 |
| Administrative occupations | £30,760 | £32,042 |
| Secretarial and related occupations | £27,083 | £29,346 |
| Skilled trades occupations | £35,675 | £37,419 |
| Skilled agricultural and related trades | £28,522* | £29,678 |
| Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades | £38,332 | £40,875 |
| Skilled construction and building trades | £35,665 | £36,959 |
| Textiles, printing and other skilled trades | £30,071 | £31,200 |
| Caring, leisure and other service occupations | £28,413 | £28,497 |
| Caring personal service occupations | £28,393 | £28,276 |
| Leisure, travel and related personal service occupations | £27,522 | £29,358 |
| Community and civil enforcement occupations | x | £33,575 |
| Sales and customer service occupations | £27,517 | £28,276 |
| Sales occupations | £26,492 | £27,532 |
| Customer service occupations | £28,547 | £29,445 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | £33,153 | £34,936 |
| Process, plant and machine operatives | £31,844 | £32,767 |
| Transport and mobile machine drivers and operatives | £34,548 | £37,730 |
| Elementary occupations | £27,711 | £29,135 |
| Elementary trades and related occupations | £29,139 | £29,853 |
| Elementary administration and service occupations | £27,440 | £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.