Lecturer: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Higher education teaching professionals (SOC 2311)
About £41,390 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +0.3% on last year
£4,430 a month About £3,449 a month after tax 241 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 £48,402 in 2021 to £53,159 in 2026 (+10%); 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 | £29,489 | £37,970 | £48,402 | £59,144 | x |
| 2022 | £28,566 | £37,771 | £47,145 | £58,643 | x |
| 2023 | £28,714 | £37,929 | £47,652 | £59,341 | £72,556 |
| 2024 | £32,010 | £40,517 | £52,580 | £64,017 | £78,514 |
| 2025 | £32,968 | £42,090 | £52,987 | £66,715 | £79,381 |
| 2026 | £30,146 | £41,724 | £53,159 | £67,158 | £83,060 |
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 £53,159 a year and half earn more. That is 30% more than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £41,724 and £67,158; the middle 80% between £30,146 and £83,060.
Ranked by median, it is number 51 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £3,449 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £3,315 in Scotland.
The median for men is £57,957 and for women £49,019, a gap of 15% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £30,146 | £2,512 |
| 20th | £38,813 | £3,234 |
| 25th (P25) | £41,724 | £3,477 |
| 30th | £44,125 | £3,677 |
| 40th | £48,644 | £4,054 |
| Median (50th) | £53,159 | £4,430 |
| 60th | £58,239 | £4,853 |
| 70th | £64,582 | £5,382 |
| 75th (P75) | £67,158 | £5,596 |
| 80th | £70,340 | £5,862 |
| 90th (P90) | £83,060 | £6,922 |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £57,957 | £61,293 | 129 |
| Women | £49,019 | £50,705 | 112 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £41,390 | £3,449 |
| Scotland | £39,776 | £3,315 |
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 £53,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 49 job titles to SOC 2311 Higher education teaching professionals. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Academic
- Assistant head
- Assistant principal
- Clinical lecturer
- Clinical skills tutor
- Clinical teacher
- Clinical tutor
- College lecturer
- Course director
- Course leader
- Course tutor
- Dance lecturer
- Dance teacher
- Dancing teacher
- Demonstrator
- Deputy head
- Deputy principal
- Director of studies
- Fellow
- Graduate teaching assistant
- Head of department
- Head of faculty
- Instructor
- Laboratory demonstrator
- Lecturer
- Midwife tutor
- Midwifery lecturer
- Nurse lecturer
- Nursing lecturer
- Political lecturer
- Polytechnic lecturer
- Postgraduate teaching assistant
- Principal lecturer
- Professor
- Programme leader
- Reader
- TA
- Teacher
- Teaching assistant
- Teaching associate
- Technical demonstrator
- Tutor
- Tutorial assistant
- University demonstrator
- University lecturer
- University professor
- University reader
- University teacher
- University teaching assistant
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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.