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Average Staff Nurse Salary in United Kingdom for 2026

A staff nurse in United Kingdom earns about 56,400 GBP a year. That's 19% below the national average of 69,700 GBP.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in United Kingdom sit around 31,200 GBP a year, while the very top stretches to 86,100 GBP. Everything on this page is in British pound (GBP, symbol £), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in United Kingdom, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

To turn a gross salary in United Kingdom into a take-home figure, use our United Kingdom salary after tax calculator, which works the latest tax brackets and contributions through the math for you.

How much does a staff nurse make in United Kingdom?

Average salary
56,400 GBP
4,700 GBP per month
Lowest reported
31,200 GBP
2,600 GBP per month
Highest reported
86,100 GBP
7,175 GBP per month

A typical staff nurse working in United Kingdom brings home around 4,700 GBP a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 31,200 GBP, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 86,100 GBP for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior staff nurse working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around. For a cross-country comparison, see the staff nurse salary in Guernsey or Jersey, both of which pay in the same currency.

How staff nurse pay ranges in United Kingdom

A good way to think about salary in United Kingdom is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all staff nurses in United Kingdom earn less than 54,200 GBP a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 36,500 GBP (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 68,100 GBP (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of staff nurses sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 31,200 GBP. The highest stretch to 86,100 GBP, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

31,200
Low
54,200
Median
86,100
High
36,500
25th
68,100
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in GBP

Staff nurse pay by experience in United Kingdom

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for a staff nurse in United Kingdom, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical staff nurse salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    33,000 GBP
  • 2-5 Years
    +37% from previous
    45,200 GBP
  • 5-10 Years
    +32% from previous
    59,500 GBP
  • 10-15 Years
    +17% from previous
    69,800 GBP
  • 15-20 Years
    +14% from previous
    79,700 GBP
  • 20+ Years
    +5% from previous
    83,300 GBP

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 37%. That is the point at which a staff nurse typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Staff nurse pay by education in United Kingdom

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving staff nurse pay in United Kingdom. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average staff nurse salary in United Kingdom broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    49,400 GBP
  • Master's Degree
    +35% from previous
    66,900 GBP

Staff nurse gender pay gap in United Kingdom

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and United Kingdom is no exception. Male staff nurses in United Kingdom earn an average of 57,000 GBP a year, while female staff nurses earn around 58,400 GBP. That works out to a 2% gap in favour of women, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Staff Nurse gender pay gap

2%

Men earn this much less than women on average in United Kingdom.

Women 58,400 GBP
Men 57,000 GBP

Pay raises for a staff nurse in United Kingdom

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in United Kingdom sees a raise of about 10% every 17 months, which works out to roughly 7% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in United Kingdom, the national average raise is around 9% every 15 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in United Kingdom:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Staff nurse bonus rates in United Kingdom

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

30%

30% of staff nurses in United Kingdom reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes a staff nurse a low-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary. The remaining 70% of staff nurses reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in United Kingdom

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Staff nurse: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in United Kingdom is about 7% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

6%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in United Kingdom on average.

Public sector 72,700 GBP
Private sector 68,200 GBP

Staff nurse salary by city and region in United Kingdom

Staff nurse pay is not even across United Kingdom. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • England
  • Scotland
  • London
  • Birmingham
  • Leeds
  • Glasgow
  • Sheffield
  • Somerset
  • Manchester
  • Cardiff
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
EnglandRegion107,300 GBP103,600 GBP54,700-164,100 GBP
ScotlandRegion74,900 GBP76,000 GBP40,500-115,600 GBP
LondonCity67,900 GBP72,400 GBP30,300-107,700 GBP
BirminghamCity66,900 GBP70,000 GBP30,800-105,200 GBP
LeedsCity66,400 GBP66,400 GBP34,000-105,200 GBP
GlasgowCity65,900 GBP65,900 GBP34,000-102,700 GBP
SheffieldCity64,900 GBP61,700 GBP35,500-100,300 GBP
SomersetCity64,600 GBP69,700 GBP30,800-103,600 GBP
ManchesterCity64,500 GBP58,400 GBP33,000-94,800 GBP
CardiffCity64,300 GBP66,200 GBP30,800-100,700 GBP
BristolCity64,200 GBP61,200 GBP35,400-99,700 GBP
EdinburghCity62,100 GBP59,500 GBP30,000-94,300 GBP
LeicesterCity61,400 GBP63,800 GBP30,000-99,600 GBP
CoventryCity61,200 GBP64,800 GBP29,100-100,200 GBP
NottinghamCity61,200 GBP63,200 GBP33,200-97,400 GBP
Kingston upon HullCity60,400 GBP58,700 GBP30,700-92,300 GBP
BradfordCity60,200 GBP54,700 GBP34,100-91,900 GBP
LiverpoolCity59,900 GBP63,500 GBP28,900-96,400 GBP
SouthamptonCity59,800 GBP56,400 GBP31,200-90,300 GBP
YorkCity59,100 GBP54,200 GBP30,700-88,700 GBP
PortsmouthCity59,000 GBP61,200 GBP27,100-91,600 GBP
ExeterCity58,700 GBP53,300 GBP32,900-86,100 GBP
BelfastCity58,700 GBP54,100 GBP30,700-88,000 GBP
DerbyCity58,600 GBP64,300 GBP26,300-92,600 GBP
AberdeenCity58,500 GBP54,100 GBP30,200-91,000 GBP
PeterboroughCity58,200 GBP58,600 GBP26,100-88,400 GBP
NewportCity58,200 GBP59,800 GBP27,400-91,000 GBP
NewcastleCity58,000 GBP54,500 GBP30,600-88,500 GBP
OxfordCity57,100 GBP57,100 GBP29,900-88,600 GBP
WolverhamptonCity57,100 GBP61,700 GBP27,300-90,600 GBP
PlymouthCity57,100 GBP60,400 GBP26,900-90,600 GBP
BrightonCity56,800 GBP53,600 GBP28,900-86,600 GBP
PooleCity56,400 GBP59,800 GBP26,500-92,000 GBP
LincolnCity56,100 GBP56,400 GBP25,800-84,800 GBP
WalesRegion55,700 GBP51,800 GBP27,700-82,200 GBP
CambridgeCity55,100 GBP54,100 GBP29,600-83,800 GBP
SwanseaCity54,900 GBP51,500 GBP29,300-86,100 GBP
GloucesterCity54,600 GBP51,500 GBP29,300-83,100 GBP
DerryCity54,600 GBP54,700 GBP27,200-85,500 GBP
DundeeCity54,500 GBP54,100 GBP27,400-87,300 GBP
ArmaghCity54,200 GBP51,900 GBP31,300-85,400 GBP
HartlepoolCity53,300 GBP51,100 GBP26,100-80,300 GBP
StirlingCity52,600 GBP55,700 GBP25,300-80,300 GBP
StromnessCity52,300 GBP55,700 GBP22,200-80,400 GBP
LisburnCity51,900 GBP51,900 GBP25,800-82,200 GBP
Northern IrelandRegion51,900 GBP51,900 GBP27,000-84,600 GBP
DurhamCity51,800 GBP56,100 GBP23,500-81,300 GBP
CanterburyCity51,500 GBP51,500 GBP23,600-78,200 GBP
WinchesterCity51,400 GBP55,100 GBP25,300-79,600 GBP
WellsCity51,300 GBP51,900 GBP26,200-79,600 GBP
InvernessCity51,300 GBP54,300 GBP25,700-79,500 GBP
NorwichCity51,100 GBP50,000 GBP25,800-79,500 GBP
NewryCity51,100 GBP52,300 GBP27,400-84,200 GBP
TruroCity50,800 GBP50,800 GBP22,800-76,000 GBP
SalisburyCity50,800 GBP46,100 GBP27,800-76,000 GBP
WakefieldCity50,700 GBP49,700 GBP24,800-77,300 GBP
AbingdonCity50,000 GBP51,600 GBP22,200-74,300 GBP
BangorCity49,400 GBP50,300 GBP21,500-75,500 GBP
RiponCity49,400 GBP46,200 GBP25,800-73,500 GBP
St DavidsCity49,400 GBP45,300 GBP24,200-71,400 GBP
ChesterCity49,100 GBP51,800 GBP24,800-79,800 GBP
KirkwallCity48,500 GBP51,800 GBP23,400-75,100 GBP
StrontianCity48,500 GBP46,400 GBP27,300-73,100 GBP

Staff Nurse in United Kingdom: FAQs

  • How much does a staff nurse make per month in United Kingdom?

    A staff nurse in United Kingdom earns about 4,700 GBP a month before tax, based on an annual average of 56,400 GBP.

  • What's the salary range for a staff nurse in United Kingdom?

    Entry-level staff nurses in United Kingdom start near 31,200 GBP. Top-end pay reaches around 86,100 GBP. The middle 50% of earners sit between 36,500 and 68,100 GBP.

  • Is the median staff nurse salary in United Kingdom higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 54,200 GBP, lower than the average of 56,400 GBP. Half of staff nurses in United Kingdom earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for staff nurses in United Kingdom?

    Men working as a staff nurse in United Kingdom earn around 2% less than women on average (57,000 vs 58,400 GBP a year).

  • Do staff nurses in United Kingdom get bonuses?

    About 30% of staff nurses in United Kingdom reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3% of base salary.

  • Do staff nurses earn more in the public or private sector in United Kingdom?

    In United Kingdom, the public sector pays a staff nurse about 7% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do staff nurses in United Kingdom get a pay raise?

    A staff nurse in United Kingdom sees a raise of around 10% every 17 months, equivalent to roughly 7% a year.