Average Public Relations Practitioner Salary in United Kingdom for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Public Relations Practitioner salary for 2024 in United Kingdom and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the British pound. To keep things simple, we are using the GBP currency code instead of the currency symbol £.

How Much Does a Public Relations Practitioner Make in United Kingdom?

A Public Relations Practitioner working in United Kingdom will typically earn around 55,700 GBP per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 27,200 GBP to the highest average salary of 83,200 GBP.

Average Annual Salary
55,700 GBP
Average Monthly Salary
4,641 GBP

Lowest Annual Salary
27,200 GBP
Lowest Monthly Salary
2,266 GBP

Highest Annual Salary
83,200 GBP
Highest Monthly Salary
6,933 GBP

These are average salaries for a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Public Relations Practitioner to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Public Relations Practitioner salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Public Relations Practitioner Salaries in United Kingdom

So we've looked at the average salaries a Public Relations Practitioner will earn in United Kingdom. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Public Relations Practitioner can earn between 27,200 GBP and 83,200 GBP on average in United Kingdom. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom is 50,600 GBP. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 50,600 GBP, and 50% of the population earn more than 50,600 GBP.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Public Relations Practitioner salary in United Kingdom, 25% of the population are earning less than 36,400 GBP while 75% of the population earn more than 36,400 GBP.

75% of the population earn less than 67,000 GBP, and 25% of the population earn more than 67,000 GBP.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Public Relations Practitioner Salary by Experience Level in United Kingdom

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average public relations practitioner salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 30,300 GBP.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Public Relations Practitioner salary would increase to 44,800 GBP.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Public Relations Practitioner, the average salary would be 57,000 GBP.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 66,100 GBP.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Public Relations Practitioner with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 73,800 GBP.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Public Relations Practitioner with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 77,300 GBP.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
30,300 GBP
2-5 Years +34%
44,800 GBP
5-10 Years +30%
57,000 GBP
10-15 Years +21%
66,100 GBP
15-20 Years +9%
73,800 GBP
20+ Years +5%
77,300 GBP

Public Relations Practitioner Salary by Education Level in United Kingdom

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

  • High School. A Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom with a high school education can earn an average salary of 39,100 GBP.

  • Certificate or Diploma. A Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 42,700 GBP.

  • Bachelor's Degree. A Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 61,500 GBP.

  • Master's Degree. A Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom with a master's degree education can earn an average salary of 75,400 GBP.

Average Salary by Education Chart

High School
39,100 GBP
Certificate or Diploma +14%
42,700 GBP
Bachelor's Degree +41%
61,500 GBP
Master's Degree +21%
75,400 GBP

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United Kingdom is around 29,600 to 88,700 GBP and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Public Relations Practitioner Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United Kingdom, a male public relations practitioner will earn an average of 54,500 GBP, while a female public relations practitioner will earn around 51,900 GBP.

This means that a male public relations practitioner earns approximately 5% more than a female public relations practitioner for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United Kingdom

Male
54,500 GBP
Female -5%
51,900 GBP

Public Relations Practitioner Average Pay Raise in United Kingdom

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom is around 11% every 15 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United Kingdom is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 15 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United Kingdom for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United Kingdom.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Public Relations Practitioner Bonus and Incentive Rates in United Kingdom

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Public Relations Practitioner is a moderate bonus based job, with 55% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

45% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 5%.

Received Bonus
55%
No Bonus
45%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United Kingdom earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
72,700 GBP
Private Sector -7%
68,200 GBP

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Public Relations Practitioner

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Public Relations Practitioner in United Kingdom.

Job Title Category Salary
Communications Associate Public Relations 36,500 GBP
Communications Project Manager Public Relations 86,300 GBP
Communications Specialist Public Relations 44,500 GBP
Director of Communications Public Relations 105,200 GBP
Government Relations Officer Public Relations 63,200 GBP
Head of Communications Public Relations 102,700 GBP
Head of Public Relations Public Relations 114,300 GBP
Investor Relations Officer Public Relations 73,500 GBP
Marketing Communications Executive Public Relations 99,400 GBP
Media Relations Specialist Public Relations 84,800 GBP
Meetings Coordinator Public Relations 30,300 GBP
Public Relations Executive Public Relations 95,100 GBP
Public Relations Manager Public Relations 108,200 GBP
Public Relations Officer Public Relations 42,400 GBP
Public Relations Specialist Public Relations 45,000 GBP
Relationship Management Officer Public Relations 35,300 GBP

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United Kingdom, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Aberdeen 55,600 GBP
Abingdon 45,600 GBP
Armagh 51,900 GBP
Bangor 49,400 GBP
Belfast 60,900 GBP
Birmingham 59,100 GBP
Bradford 58,000 GBP
Brighton 55,100 GBP
Bristol 62,600 GBP
Cambridge 55,100 GBP
Canterbury 49,700 GBP
Cardiff 58,200 GBP
Chester 53,300 GBP
Coventry 58,700 GBP
Derby 58,400 GBP
Derry 49,100 GBP
Dundee 54,200 GBP
Durham 46,900 GBP
Edinburgh 56,900 GBP
Exeter 52,800 GBP
Glasgow 61,800 GBP
Gloucester 49,100 GBP
Hartlepool 51,400 GBP
Inverness 46,200 GBP
Kingston upon Hull 54,100 GBP
Kirkwall 48,600 GBP
Leeds 59,900 GBP
Leicester 60,600 GBP
Lincoln 51,300 GBP
Lisburn 51,100 GBP
Liverpool 61,400 GBP
London 60,700 GBP
Manchester 60,800 GBP
Newcastle 54,500 GBP
Newport 52,800 GBP
Newry 48,300 GBP
Norwich 51,900 GBP
Nottingham 54,600 GBP
Oxford 55,700 GBP
Peterborough 57,800 GBP
Plymouth 55,200 GBP
Poole 54,700 GBP
Portsmouth 55,700 GBP
Ripon 50,800 GBP
Salisbury 46,700 GBP
Sheffield 63,200 GBP
Somerset 62,500 GBP
Southampton 55,200 GBP
St Davids 48,500 GBP
Stirling 54,100 GBP
Stromness 47,500 GBP
Strontian 48,600 GBP
Swansea 54,700 GBP
Truro 48,000 GBP
Wakefield 46,700 GBP
Wells 45,800 GBP
Winchester 53,300 GBP
Wolverhampton 54,500 GBP
York 58,600 GBP

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United Kingdom.

City Average Salary
England 99,100 GBP
Northern Ireland 52,600 GBP
Scotland 77,400 GBP
Wales 50,100 GBP

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