Barista: salary in the UK
ONS occupation: Coffee shop workers (SOC 9266)
About £18,910 a year after tax (England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 2026/27)
median salary a year, full-time, -1.2% on last year
£1,781 a month About £1,576 a month after tax 5 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 £15,466 in 2021 to £21,376 in 2026 (+38%); 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 | x | £15,466 | x | x |
| 2022 | x | x | x | x | x |
| 2023 | x | x | £19,192 | x | x |
| 2024 | x | x | £20,568 | x | x |
| 2025 | x | x | £21,626 | x | x |
| 2026 | x | x | £21,376 | x | 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 £21,376 a year and half earn more. That is 48% less than the median for all full-time employees in the UK (£40,911).
Ranked by median, it is number 362 of the 362 occupations with a published figure.
At the median salary, take-home pay after Income Tax and National Insurance is about £1,576 a month in England, Wales or Northern Ireland and £1,579 in Scotland.
Percentiles
| Percentile | Annual | Monthly |
|---|---|---|
| 10th (P10) | x | x |
| 20th | x | x |
| 25th (P25) | x | x |
| 30th | x | x |
| 40th | £19,716 | £1,643 |
| Median (50th) | £21,376 | £1,781 |
| 60th | £23,596 | £1,966 |
| 70th | £24,767 | £2,064 |
| 75th (P75) | x | x |
| 80th | x | x |
| 90th (P90) | x | x |
Men and women
| Median | Mean | Jobs (thousands) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men | x | £21,806 | x |
| Women | £21,226 | £19,685 | x |
Take-home pay at the median
| Where you live | Per year | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| England, Wales, NI | £18,910 | £1,576 |
| Scotland | £18,950 | £1,579 |
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 £21,000
Job titles in this occupation
ONS codes these 8 job titles to SOC 9266 Coffee shop workers. Pay figures are for the whole occupation, not for each title.
- Barista
- Barista maestro
- Coffee barmaid
- Coffee barman
- Coffee maid
- Coffee room maid
- Coffee shop assistant
- Coffee stall attendant
Similar occupations
All jobs in Elementary 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.