Civil engineer: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Civil engineers (SOC 2121)
About £40,982 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +1.4% on last year
£4,371 a month About £3,415 a month after tax 61 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 £42,121 in 2021 to £52,456 in 2026 (+25%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.
Figures by year
| P10 | P25 | Median | P75 | P90 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | £27,389 | £32,347 | £42,121 | £52,688 | x |
| 2022 | £28,571 | £34,621 | £44,491 | £55,055 | x |
| 2023 | £28,579 | £35,310 | £45,514 | £58,123 | x |
| 2024 | £30,060 | £38,953 | £50,209 | £63,022 | x |
| 2025 | £32,191 | £39,709 | £51,743 | £65,119 | x |
| 2026 | £33,167 | £41,252 | £52,456 | £69,429 | 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 £52,456 a year and half earn more. That is 28% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £41,252 and £69,429; one in ten earns less than £33,167.
Ranked by median, it is number 56 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,415 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,282 in Scotland.
The median for men is £53,326 and for women £43,331, a gap of 19% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £33,167 | £2,764 |
| 20th | £39,125 | £3,260 |
| 25th (P25) | £41,252 | £3,438 |
| 30th | £43,095 | £3,591 |
| 40th | £48,028 | £4,002 |
| Median (50th) | £52,456 | £4,371 |
| 60th | £57,477 | £4,790 |
| 70th | £66,098 | £5,508 |
| 75th (P75) | £69,429 | £5,786 |
| 80th | £74,249 | £6,187 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £53,326 | £60,699 | 53 |
| Women | £43,331 | £47,292 | 8 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £40,982 | £3,415 |
| Scotland | £39,383 | £3,282 |
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 £52,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 81 job titles to SOC 2121 Civil engineers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Aquaculture engineer
- Assistant engineer
- Boring engineer
- Borough engineer
- Borough surveyor
- Building and civil engineer
- Building engineer
- Building services engineer
- City engineer
- City surveyor
- Civil engineer
- Civil engineering consultant
- Civils inspector
- Colliery engineer
- Construction engineer
- Constructional engineer
- Consultant
- Contractor's engineer
- County divisional surveyor
- County engineer
- County surveyor
- Demolition engineer
- Development flood risk engineer
- District engineer
- District surveyor
- Dock engineer
- Docks engineer
- Drainage engineer
- Dredger engineer
- Drilling engineer
- Drilling fluids engineer
- Engineer
- Engineer and architect
- Engineering inspector
- Field engineer
- Flood defence engineer
- Flood risk engineer
- Flow assurance engineer
- Geo technical engineer
- Geotechnical engineer
- Highway engineer
- Highways design engineer
- Highways engineer
- Highways maintenance engineer
- Hydraulic modeller
- Incorporated engineer
- Irrigation engineer
- Maintenance engineer
- Mining consultant
- Mining engineer
- Mud engineer
- Municipal engineer
- Mwd engineer
- Natural gas engineer
- Nrswa highways inspector
- Offshore engineer
- Oil and natural gas engineer
- Oil engineer
- Petroleum engineer
- Pipeline engineer
Show all 81 titles
- Public health engineer
- Public works engineer
- Quarrying engineer
- Reservoir engineer
- Resident engineer
- Road engineer
- Sanitary engineer
- Senior highway network inspector
- Site engineer
- Station engineer
- Strata control engineer
- Structural engineer
- Subsidence engineer
- Sustainability engineer
- Transportation engineer
- Tunnelling engineer
- Utilities engineer
- Water engineer
- Water treatment engineer
- Well engineer
- Works officer
Similar occupations
All jobs in Professional occupations
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.