Care worker: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Care workers and home carers (SOC 6135)
About £24,211 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, +4.6% on last year
£2,395 a month About £2,018 a month after tax 340 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 £20,332 in 2021 to £28,738 in 2026 (+41%); 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 | £13,765 | £16,892 | £20,332 | £24,495 | £29,739 |
| 2022 | £14,130 | £17,823 | £21,527 | £26,502 | £32,323 |
| 2023 | x | £18,943 | £23,398 | £28,538 | x |
| 2024 | £16,850 | £21,164 | £25,545 | £30,825 | £36,786 |
| 2025 | £18,233 | £22,807 | £27,463 | £32,509 | £38,092 |
| 2026 | £19,371 | £24,274 | £28,738 | £34,111 | £40,191 |
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 £28,738 a year and half earn more. That is 30% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
The middle half earn between £24,274 and £34,111; the middle 80% between £19,371 and £40,191.
Ranked by median, it is number 321 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £2,018 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £2,021 in Scotland.
The median for men is £30,029 and for women £28,194, a gap of 6% in men's favour. This compares full-time salaries only and doesn't account for seniority or hours.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | £19,371 | £1,614 |
| 20th | £23,042 | £1,920 |
| 25th (P25) | £24,274 | £2,023 |
| 30th | £25,254 | £2,105 |
| 40th | £27,106 | £2,259 |
| Median (50th) | £28,738 | £2,395 |
| 60th | £30,482 | £2,540 |
| 70th | £32,755 | £2,730 |
| 75th (P75) | £34,111 | £2,843 |
| 80th | £35,478 | £2,957 |
| 90th (P90) | £40,191 | £3,349 |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | £30,029 | £30,170 | 99 |
| Women | £28,194 | £28,703 | 241 |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £24,211 | £2,018 |
| Scotland | £24,250 | £2,021 |
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 £29,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 106 job titles to SOC 6135 Care workers and home carers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Activities coordinator
- Activity coordinator
- Activity organiser
- Adult support worker
- Attendant
- Autism practitioner
- Autism support worker
- Befriender
- Care aid
- Care aide
- Care assistant
- Care attendant
- Care enabler
- Care giver
- Care home assistant
- Care nurse
- Care support worker
- Care visitor
- Care worker
- Carer
- Carer-personal assistant
- Carers support worker
- Careworker
- Charge attendant
- Child care worker
- Child careworker
- Children support worker
- Children's care worker
- Community care assistant
- Community care worker
- Community carer
- Community health care assistant
- Community healthcare assistant
- Community mental health assistant
- Community mental health worker
- Community support worker
- Day care assistant
- Day centre officer
- Domiciliary care assistant
- Domiciliary carer
- Enablement assistant
- Enablement worker
- General assistant
- HCA
- Health assistant
- Health care assistant
- Health support worker
- Healthcare worker
- Hobby therapist
- Home aid
- Home aide
- Home care assistant
- Home care support worker
- Home care worker
- Home carer
- Home helper
- Home support worker
- Homecare worker
- Homehelp
- Independent living support worker
Show all 106 titles
- Integrated support worker
- Invalid attendant
- Learning disabilities support worker
- Lifestyle coordinator
- Live in carer
- Live-in carer
- Mental health care assistant
- Mental health care support worker
- Mental health support worker
- Mental healthcare assistant
- Night attendant
- Night care assistant
- Night care officer
- Night health care assistant
- Night support worker
- Old people's helper
- Orderly
- PA carer
- Personal assistant
- Personal care assistant
- Personal carer
- Private carer
- Reablement assistant
- Reablement carer
- Reablement support worker
- Reablement worker
- Rehabilitation support worker
- Resident social worker
- Residential care worker
- Residential child care worker
- Residential childcare worker
- Residential children's worker
- Residential officer
- Residential social care worker
- Residential social worker
- Residential worker
- Resource worker
- Responsible tenant
- Shared lives carer
- Shelter worker
- Sitter
- Social care worker
- Support assistant
- Support worker
- Waking night support worker
- Wellbeing coordinator
Similar occupations
All jobs in Caring, leisure and other service 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.