Chemical scientists: salary in the UK
About £33,870 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +5.1% on last year
£3,513 a month About £2,822 a month after tax 13 thousand full-time jobs
Gross pay before tax, including bonuses, commission and overtime. Not included: benefits in kind such as a company car. About the data
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.
Pay by year
The median went from £36,744 in 2022 to £42,153 in 2026 (+15%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +24% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | x | £27,957 | x | x | x |
| 2022 | x | £31,843 | £36,744 | x | x |
| 2023 | x | £29,532 | £35,173 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | £31,280 | £39,903 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | £32,661 | £40,096 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | £34,481 | £42,153 | x | x |
ONS figures for each year, not adjusted for inflation. Years before 2021 used a different occupation classification, so they can't be compared. Earlier years are ONS's revised figures; the latest is provisional.
Half of full-time employees in this occupation earn less than £42,153 a year and half earn more. That is 3% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 129 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
The mean (£54,667) is well above the median: a minority in this job earn much more than most.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,822 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,815 in Scotland.
The median for men is £46,426 and for women £34,577, a gap of 26% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | £32,574 | £2,715 |
| 25th (P25) | £34,481 | £2,873 |
| 30th | £34,909 | £2,909 |
| 40th | £39,899 | £3,325 |
| Median (50th) | £42,153 | £3,513 |
| 60th | £46,109 | £3,842 |
| 70th | x | x |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £46,426 | £61,539 | 9 |
| Women | £34,577 | £38,884 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £33,870 | £2,822 |
| Scotland | £33,783 | £2,815 |
After Income Tax and National Insurance for 2026 to 2027, with the standard tax code and no pension or student loan. Work out your own take-home pay · Take-home pay on £42,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 50 job titles to SOC 2111 Chemical scientists. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Analytical chemist
- Chemical analyst
- Chemical consultant
- Chemist
- Chief analyst
- Chief chemist
- Chief experimental officer
- Consulting chemist
- County analyst
- Development chemist
- Director of research
- Doctor of chemistry
- Electro-chemist
- Electroplating chemist
- Flavourist
- Government chemist
- Industrial chemist
- Inorganic chemist
- Lab analyst
- Laboratory analyst
- Laboratory chemist
- Managing chemist
- Manufacturing chemist
- Metallurgical chemist
- Milk sampling officer
- Nuclear chemist
- Organic chemist
- Photographic chemist
- Physical chemist
- Polymer chemist
- Public analyst
- Radiochemist
- Research and development chemist
- Research assistant
- Research associate
- Research chemist
- Research officer
- Research scientist
- Research worker
- Researcher
- Scientific officer
- Scientist
- Section head
- Senior experimental officer
- Shift chemist
- Superintending chemist
- Technical chemist
- Technical officer
- Textile chemist
- Works chemist
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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.