Youth worker: salary in the UK

ONS occupation: Youth and community workers (SOC 3221)

£33,852

About £27,893 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)

median salary a year, full-time, +3.7% on last year

£2,821 a month About £2,324 a month after tax 57 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 £27,100 in 2021 to £33,852 in 2026 (+25%); for all full-time employees in the UK it changed by +31% over the same years.

Figures by year
P10P25MedianP75P90
2021£19,768£23,277£27,100£30,675x
2022£20,547£23,632£27,934£32,557x
2023xx£29,439xx
2024£23,840£26,520£31,643£36,672x
2025£23,754£27,045£32,654£37,951x
2026£24,766£28,854£33,852£39,708x

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 £33,852 a year and half earn more. That is 17% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).

The middle half earn between £28,854 and £39,708; one in ten earns less than £24,766.

Ranked by median, it is number 224 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.

At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,324 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,324 in Scotland.

The median for men is £34,851 and for women £33,440, a gap of 4% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.

Percentiles

PercentileAnnualMonthly
10th (P10)£24,766£2,064
20th£27,830£2,319
25th (P25)£28,854£2,405
30th£29,981£2,498
40th£32,063£2,672
Median (50th)£33,852£2,821
60th£35,827£2,986
70th£38,518£3,210
75th (P75)£39,708£3,309
80th£41,309£3,442
90th (P90)xx

Men and women

MedianMeanJobs (thousands)
Men£34,851£36,38516
Women£33,440£34,61941

Take-home pay at the median

Where you livePer yearPer month
England, Wales, NI£27,893£2,324
Scotland£27,889£2,324

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 £34,000

Job titles in this occupation

ONS codes these 68 job titles to SOC 3221 Youth and community workers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.

Show all 68 titles

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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.