18–21Top 10% £32,939
Average salary£24,394
Top 20%£29,750
Top 10%£32,939
Top 5% est.£45,700
Top 1% est.£101,200
UK Salary Percentile by Age 2026: Where Does Your Pay Really Rank?
Most salary comparisons ignore age — which means they ignore context. Enter your income and age band to estimate where you rank among people at a similar career stage, what the top earners in your group earn, and what your next threshold looks like.
UK median pay£39,039Full-time employees
Peak earning years40–49Highest average pay
Top 10% at 30–39£75,041Full-time employees
Best useIncome + age bandSee pay in context
Quick age-based salary check: enter your income and age band to see your age-group pay position and estimated take-home pay in one clear result.
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30-second income percentile check
Step 1 of 2
Where do you sit for your age and income?
Enter your income before tax and choose your age band. You will get an age-adjusted salary benchmark, plus estimated take-home pay.
£
£
Age
Hours and weeksOnly needed for hourly pay.
Total income used for percentile
£35,000
Salary £35,000 + extra income £0
Step 2 of 2
Your age-based salary result
A quick view of where your pay sits for your age band.
You are approximatelyTop —For ages 30–39 · age-based result
Total income used£35,000
Your age band30–39
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Add take-home pay, real hourly value, pay-rise impact and housing pressure to this age-based benchmark.
Want your overall UK income rank?This result is age-based. Use the full calculator for your national UK income rank.
Check my full UK percentile →Your next step£45,000
Amount to move up£10,000
Why your salary percentile looks different by age
Updated 18 May 2026By DanONS ASHE Table 6 2025 + HMRC SPI 2023/24Gross yearly pay before tax
The national salary percentile tells you where you stand against everyone. The age-adjusted version tells you something more useful for most working-life decisions: how you compare to people who have had roughly the same amount of time to build their careers.
The two figures can be quite different. A £52,000 salary sits around the 81st percentile nationally. For someone aged 22–29, the same number is close to the top 10% for that age group. For someone aged 40–49, it is closer to the top 43%. Same salary, very different career story — because the earnings distribution shifts with age in ways that matter when you're trying to understand your own position.
Why the calculator uses median, not average, for rank
Average salary is useful for understanding total pay in an age band, but it is not the same as the 50th percentile. High earners pull the average above the median, especially in the 30s, 40s and 50s. For the age-band rank estimate, the calculator anchors the 50th percentile to the ONS median salary, then interpolates between ONS percentile points such as the 60th, 70th, 80th and 90th percentiles. The top 5% and top 1% figures remain labelled estimates because ONS does not publish direct age-band 95th and 99th percentile salary cut-offs in the same simple table.
How earnings move across age bands
ONS data shows a consistent pattern: average full-time salaries rise through the 20s and 30s, peak in the 40s, and ease off in the 50s and 60s as some workers move to part-time, step back from senior roles, or leave employment altogether. The top percentile thresholds follow the same arc — the 40–49 group has the highest top 10% and top 5% cut-offs across all age bands.
This is why the age-band result from the calculator is most useful when you're asking a specific question: not "am I doing well?" in the abstract, but "how does my pay compare to people at a similar career stage?" For a broader rank across all UK taxpayers regardless of age, the national percentile calculator gives that picture.
Salary percentile by age: quick answer
Use the calculator for your own result, or scan the core age-band thresholds below. This table keeps the decision-making columns only: average salary, top 20%, top 10%, top 5% and top 1%. The calculator itself uses the ONS median as the 50th-percentile anchor, because average pay is pulled upward by high earners.
On mobile, the table stacks into cards so each age band is easier to scan.
| Age group | Average salary | Top 20% guide | Top 10% cut-off | Top 5% estimate | Top 1% estimate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18–21 | £24,394 | £29,750 | £32,939 | £45,700 | £101,200 |
| 22–29 | £35,760 | £45,378 | £52,197 | £72,500 | £160,300 |
| 30–39 | £48,421 | £62,919 | £75,041 | £104,200 | £230,500 |
| 40–49 | £54,591 | £72,500 | £88,658 | £123,100 | £272,300 |
| 50–59 | £53,349 | £69,547 | £85,226 | £118,400 | £261,700 |
| 60+ | £46,794 | £60,814 | £74,677 | £103,700 | £229,300 |
22–29Top 10% £52,197
Average salary£35,760
Top 20%£45,378
Top 10%£52,197
Top 5% est.£72,500
Top 1% est.£160,300
30–39Top 10% £75,041
Average salary£48,421
Top 20%£62,919
Top 10%£75,041
Top 5% est.£104,200
Top 1% est.£230,500
40–49Top 10% £88,658
Average salary£54,591
Top 20%£72,500
Top 10%£88,658
Top 5% est.£123,100
Top 1% est.£272,300
50–59Top 10% £85,226
Average salary£53,349
Top 20%£69,547
Top 10%£85,226
Top 5% est.£118,400
Top 1% est.£261,700
60+Top 10% £74,677
Average salary£46,794
Top 20%£60,814
Top 10%£74,677
Top 5% est.£103,700
Top 1% est.£229,300
How to read the calculator result with your age
This page is for age-band salary context. It answers “how does my pay compare with people around my age?” For your overall UK income rank, use the full salary percentile calculator.
Age result
Best for checking whether your salary is strong for your age band.
Next age target
Shows the next realistic age-band milestone and how far away it is.
Take-home pay
Adds an estimated monthly amount after tax and NI, so the result feels practical.
Explore the age percentile cluster
Jump to the specific top-earner threshold pages by age.
Sources and how figures are worked out
Figures are yearly pay before tax unless stated. Published ONS/HMRC figures are used directly where available; wider top-end age figures are shown as estimates.
On mobile, the source table stacks into cards to avoid side-scrolling.
Data sources used on this pageOfficial data and labelled estimates
| Source | How we use it | Link |
|---|---|---|
| ONS ASHE Table 6 2025 | Age-group annual earnings for UK employees by sex and full-time/part-time status. | Open source |
| ONS Employee earnings in the UK 2025 | UK full-time employee median of £39,039 and ASHE quality notes. | Open source |
| HMRC income percentiles 2023/24 | Used on the linked full UK percentile calculator. This age page focuses on ONS age-band salary figures. | Open source |
FAQs
Is this salary percentile by age calculator official?
The published ONS figures are official. Where a page shows top 5% or top 1% by age, PayPrecise labels those as estimates because official age-specific 95th and 99th percentile salary points are not always published in a simple public table.
Why does age change my salary percentile?
Pay typically rises with experience through the twenties and thirties, peaks around mid-career, and often eases later as hours or roles change. That is why the same salary can rank very differently at 25 and 50.
Should I compare salary with all employees or full-time employees?
For career salary comparisons, full-time employee figures are usually cleaner. All-employee figures include part-time workers and can make a salary look higher in the distribution than it feels in a full-time career context.