Product manager: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Research and development (R&D) managers (SOC 2161)
About £43,881 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +3.4% on last year
£4,788 a month About £3,657 a month after tax 77 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 £47,755 in 2021 to £57,455 in 2026 (+20%); 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 | £28,488 | £36,928 | £47,755 | £61,330 | x |
| 2022 | £30,272 | £39,301 | £50,007 | £64,087 | x |
| 2023 | x | x | £49,866 | x | x |
| 2024 | £33,068 | £40,060 | £54,551 | £67,741 | x |
| 2025 | £36,599 | £43,593 | £55,542 | £75,443 | x |
| 2026 | £36,591 | £46,683 | £57,455 | £77,661 | 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 £57,455 a year and half earn more. That is 40% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £46,683 and £77,661; one in ten earns less than £36,591.
Ranked by median, it is number 38 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
The mean (£66,583) 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 £3,657 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,515 in Scotland.
The median for men is £59,276 and for women £56,366, a gap of 5% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £36,591 | £3,049 |
| 20th | £43,861 | £3,655 |
| 25th (P25) | £46,683 | £3,890 |
| 30th | £49,499 | £4,125 |
| 40th | £54,416 | £4,535 |
| Median (50th) | £57,455 | £4,788 |
| 60th | £64,281 | £5,357 |
| 70th | £72,449 | £6,037 |
| 75th (P75) | £77,661 | £6,472 |
| 80th | £82,775 | £6,898 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £59,276 | £68,032 | 46 |
| Women | £56,366 | £64,427 | 31 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £43,881 | £3,657 |
| Scotland | £42,182 | £3,515 |
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 £57,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 32 job titles to SOC 2161 Research and development (R&D) managers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Analytics manager
- Clinical study manager
- Clinical trial manager
- Clinical trials manager
- Consumer insights manager
- Creative manager
- Design manager
- Development manager
- Forensic services manager
- Head
- Head of design
- Head of product design
- Head of research
- Head of research and development
- Information manager
- Insight manager
- Insights manager
- Inventor
- Laboratory manager
- Manager
- Manager of field trials
- Market research manager
- NPD manager
- Passenger link manager
- Process development manager
- Product manager
- Project manager
- Research and development manager
- Research manager
- Rm&g manager
- Technical manager
- Wind tunnel manager
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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.