Clergy: salary in the UK
About £26,969 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.4% on last year
£2,714 a month About £2,247 a month after tax 29 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 £27,563 in 2021 to £32,569 in 2026 (+18%); 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 | x | £22,996 | £27,563 | x | x |
| 2022 | £20,962 | x | £27,211 | £29,039 | x |
| 2023 | £21,194 | £26,447 | £27,637 | £30,827 | x |
| 2024 | £25,363 | £27,904 | £29,580 | £36,047 | x |
| 2025 | £28,017 | £30,277 | £31,183 | £37,407 | x |
| 2026 | £26,710 | £31,132 | £32,569 | £40,319 | 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 £32,569 a year and half earn more. That is 20% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £31,132 and £40,319; one in ten earns less than £26,710.
Ranked by median, it is number 246 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,247 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,248 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £26,710 | £2,226 |
| 20th | £30,717 | £2,560 |
| 25th (P25) | £31,132 | £2,594 |
| 30th | £31,546 | £2,629 |
| 40th | £31,874 | £2,656 |
| Median (50th) | £32,569 | £2,714 |
| 60th | £33,438 | £2,787 |
| 70th | £37,958 | £3,163 |
| 75th (P75) | £40,319 | £3,360 |
| 80th | £42,088 | £3,507 |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £33,222 | £36,702 | 21 |
| Women | x | £31,105 | 7 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £26,969 | £2,247 |
| Scotland | £26,978 | £2,248 |
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 £33,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 45 job titles to SOC 2463 Clergy. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Abbot
- Archbishop
- Archdeacon
- Bishop
- Brother
- Canon
- Captain
- Chaplain
- Christian science practitioner
- Church army officer
- Church leader
- Church minister
- Clergyman
- Clerk in holy orders
- Commanding officer
- Curate
- Deacon
- Dean
- Ecclesiastic
- Friar
- Hospital chaplain
- Imam
- Incumbent
- Lady superior
- Major
- Member of religious community
- Minister
- Minister of religion
- Moderator
- Monk
- Mother superior
- Nun
- Pastor
- Prebendary
- Priest
- Prior
- Rabbi
- Rector
- Reverend
- Salvation army officer
- Shamanic practitioner
- Sister
- Spiritualist
- Theologian
- Vicar
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.