Midwife salary UK: what midwives really earn
The typical full-time midwife salary is £46,990. See the official ONS pay range, estimated monthly take-home pay and the NHS guides that explain bands, pension and deductions.
How to read the official midwife salary figure
Midwife pay is often discussed only through NHS bands. The ONS figures add a second view: what full-time employee jobs in the occupation were paid across the UK. The official source uses the label Midwifery nurses. That is the ONS category name, not a change to the everyday job title used on this page. Typical pay is above the typical full-time UK pay, but the published points still cover a meaningful range.
Location, experience, shift patterns, employer and added responsibility can all affect a real payslip. Use the linked NHS pages for band rules, pension and deductions. Use the figures here to see the wider occupation picture. The ONS does not publish the top 10% point, so no upper figure has been invented.
Which midwifery jobs this figure covers
The ONS category is labelled Midwifery nurses, but the everyday occupation is midwife. The figure covers full-time employee earnings for that group.
Good fit for this page
- Registered midwives in employee jobs
- Hospital, community and home-based midwifery roles
- Actual occupation earnings that may include regular shift additions
Use a different comparison for
- Maternity support workers or healthcare assistants
- General nursing roles outside midwifery
- A basic NHS band without checking hours and enhancements
Lower, typical and higher midwife pay
Only £3,062 separates the median from the published 60th percentile. A quick glance cannot show where your own pay sits inside that band or how close you are to the next salary point.
- Lower pay10th percentile£36,463
- Lower-middle pay25th percentile£42,084
- Typical payMedian£46,990
- Higher pay75th percentile£53,564
Moving from the median to the published 60th percentile is £3,062 gross a year, or about £183 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Place your confirmed midwife salary inside the ONS occupation range, then see take-home pay and True Wage around shifts, travel and work costs.
From the median to the published 60th percentile is £3,062 gross a year, worth about £183 more a month after standard tax and employee National Insurance.
Every published midwife salary point
See every published salary point
| Pay point | Annual salary | How to read it |
|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £36,463 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 20th percentile | £41,138 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 25th percentile | £42,084 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 30th percentile | £43,335 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| 40th percentile | £45,606 | Below the occupation midpoint |
| Median | £46,990 | The published midpoint |
| 60th percentile | £50,052 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 70th percentile | £52,325 | Above the occupation midpoint |
| 75th percentile | £53,564 | Above the occupation midpoint |
The paid report estimates a position between two published points. It does not claim an exact ranking of every worker.
What the typical salary may look like after tax
At the typical midwife salary of £46,990, take-home is about £3,113 a month.
The estimate uses the standard Personal Allowance, Income Tax bands for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and employee National Insurance. It does not include pension, student loan, salary sacrifice or a different tax code. Scottish Income Tax is different.
How the midwife figure should be read
The lower published point is £36,463, the typical salary is £46,990, and the highest published point, the 75th percentile is £53,564.
The occupation figure includes employee earnings across the UK, while an NHS band shows an official pay scale. Actual pay may include unsocial-hours additions and other differences. The two views answer different questions and are most useful when read together.
What usually changes midwife earnings
The basic band is only one part of the picture. Shift pattern, career stage, specialist work and responsibility can all move annual earnings and monthly take-home.
Band and experience
A newly registered midwife, an experienced practitioner and a ward or team leader should not be compared with the same salary point.
Shifts and on-call work
Nights, weekends, bank holidays and on-call arrangements can add to basic pay. Check whether the published salary or offer includes those additions.
Specialist and community work
Hospital labour wards, community caseloads, home visits, neonatal work and other specialist duties can bring different working patterns and responsibility.
Pension and student loan
NHS pension and student-loan deductions can materially change the amount paid each month, even when two midwives have the same gross salary.
Training, registration and progression
The National Careers Service describes midwives as supporting pregnant people and babies before, during and after childbirth. The work can include health checks, labour and delivery, pain-management advice, postnatal support and home visits.
Entry normally requires an approved midwifery degree or degree apprenticeship, followed by registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council. Registered adult nurses may also be able to take a conversion course. The work commonly includes evenings, weekends and bank holidays on shifts.
Further training can lead to specialist work such as ultrasound or neonatal care. Experienced midwives may become ward managers, team leaders, consultant midwives or directors of midwifery. Those roles explain part of the difference between the lower and higher published earnings points.
What to check in a midwife offer
The contract should make the basic point, roster and additions easy to separate.
- What band, pay point and contracted hours apply?
- How are nights, weekends, bank holidays and on-call periods paid?
- What rotation between hospital, community and specialist work is expected?
- How do pension, student loan, training and professional-registration costs affect the package?
Where the salary and industry information comes from
The pay figures are from the Office for National Statistics Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, Table 14, 2025 provisional edition. They cover full-time employee jobs, and annual figures normally relate to people who have been in the same job for more than one year. They do not cover self-employed people.
| Official job group | Midwifery nurses. This is the ONS category name used for midwife jobs. |
|---|---|
| Quality | ONS rates this estimate precise (CV of 5% or less). The published median CV is 3.7%. In plain English, this is one of the more dependable ONS estimates for the occupation. |
| Jobs in the estimate | About 21,000 employee jobs |
| Career and role source | National Careers Service: Midwife Training, registration, duties, shifts and progression. View source |
Where ONS leaves a salary point blank, this page leaves it blank too. A missing top 10% figure is never filled with an estimate.
View the ONS salary tableCheck the 2026/27 tax and NI figures
Midwife salary questions
What is the typical midwife salary in the UK?
The ONS full-time median for midwives is £46,990. The simple average is £48,988. The median is the better starting point for a typical salary.
Is £46,990 a good salary for a midwife?
It is the official middle salary for full-time midwives. It is 20% higher than the UK full-time median of £39,039.
What do the best-paid midwives earn?
ONS does not publish the 90th percentile for this occupation. The highest available point is the 75th percentile at £53,564, so no top 10% figure is claimed.
How much is midwife take-home pay at the typical salary?
A standard 2026/27 estimate gives about £3,113 a month after Income Tax and employee National Insurance. Pension, student loan, salary sacrifice and tax-code changes are not included.