First pay · 5 min read
What is a graduate salary in the UK?
What graduates earn in the UK in 2026: the scheme median, what most first graduate jobs pay, the gap by sector and region, and how pay grows.
The short answer
In 2026 a typical graduate starting salary in the UK is between £25,000 and £32,000. The Institute of Student Employers puts the median for large-employer graduate schemes at just over £32,000, but most graduates don't start on a scheme, and first jobs at small and mid-sized firms more often pay £24,000 to £28,000. London adds several thousand pounds and costs more than that back. Over a career the gap opens: the Department for Education's 2024 figures give working-age graduates a median of £42,000 against £30,500 for non-graduates.
Key takeaways
- Scheme median just over £32,000; most direct first jobs £24,000 to £28,000; the full-time minimum wage floor is about £24,800 from April 2026.
- Law, banking, consulting and tech pay most at entry; charities, media, hospitality and the arts pay least.
- Young graduates aged 21 to 30 had a median of £32,500 in 2024, against £27,000 for young non-graduates.
- Starting pay matters less than the rate of growth in the first three years. Ask about that at interview.
On this pageThe numbers that actually apply to you
The numbers that actually apply to you
Headline graduate salary figures come from surveys of large employers, which hire a minority of graduates. The Institute of Student Employers' 2025 survey, covering mostly big firms, reports a median starting salary a little above £32,000. HESA's Graduate Outcomes survey, which asks all graduates fifteen months after finishing, finds a median closer to £27,000 to £28,000. The second figure describes most people's first year; the first describes what a scheme at a large firm pays.
Typical starting pay by sector
| Sector | Typical range | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Commercial law (London training contract) | £50,000 to £60,000 and above | Highest entry pay; small intake |
| Investment banking, strategy consulting | £45,000 to £60,000 | Long hours; London |
| Software and tech | £28,000 to £40,000 | Wide range by firm size |
| Accountancy, professional services | £26,000 to £34,000 | Qualification funded |
| Engineering, construction | £27,000 to £33,000 | Chartership route |
| Civil Service, NHS management, teaching | £28,000 to £34,000 | Pension worth far more than private equivalents |
| Marketing, HR, admin, small firms | £23,000 to £28,000 | Where most first graduate jobs are |
| Charities, media, arts | £22,000 to £26,000 | Often near the minimum wage floor |
The floor under every job
From 1 April 2026 the National Living Wage for anyone 21 and over is £12.71 an hour, which is about £24,800 a year for a 37.5-hour week. No graduate job can legally pay less for full-time hours. A salary of £23,000 for a 40-hour week would be below the minimum, so check hours as well as the headline when an offer looks low.
What the premium looks like later
The Department for Education's graduate labour market statistics for 2024 put median earnings for working-age graduates at £42,000, postgraduates at £47,000 and non-graduates at £30,500. For young people aged 21 to 30, graduates earned a median of £32,500 against £27,000 for non-graduates. The gap is smallest at 21 and widest in the forties. That's the trade: a slower start for a steeper curve, on average, with large differences by subject and sector.
Illustrative example: two offers, one obvious and one right
A graduate holds a £31,000 offer from a large insurer's scheme in Birmingham and a £26,000 offer from a 25-person data consultancy in the same city. She asks each what the people hired two years ago now earn. The insurer says £34,000 to £36,000. The consultancy says £38,000 to £42,000, because they promote fast and lose people to clients. She takes the lower offer and is on £40,000 at 24.
Questions people ask
- Is £25,000 a good graduate salary?
- It's typical for a first graduate job outside London at a small or mid-sized employer, and about where many public sector and charity roles start. It's below the large-scheme median. Whether it's good depends on where you live and what it leads to: a £25,000 job that becomes £35,000 in three years beats a £30,000 job that stays there.
- What is the average graduate salary in London?
- Large scheme salaries in London commonly start at £32,000 to £40,000, with law and finance higher. Direct graduate jobs in London more often start at £27,000 to £32,000. Rent in London takes most of the difference, so compare what's left after housing, not the headline.
- Which degree subjects earn the most?
- Medicine, dentistry, economics, maths, engineering and computing have the highest early-career earnings in the DfE's Longitudinal Education Outcomes data. Creative arts, agriculture and some social care subjects have the lowest. The subject gap is real but it narrows within fields: a strong graduate in any subject who gets into a well-paid sector earns like that sector.
- Do graduates earn more than apprentices?
- At 21, usually not: a Level 6 degree apprentice has been earning for three years and has no tuition debt. By 30, graduates in well-paid fields have usually caught up and passed, while degree apprentices in engineering and finance keep pace. Across all subjects and routes the averages are closer than either side admits.
Exercises are practice, not evidence of career fit or a qualification. How to read our guides and report a correction.
Sources
- Student Recruitment Survey 2025 · Institute of Student Employers
- Graduate labour market statistics, calendar year 2024 · Department for Education, Explore education statistics
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates · GOV.UK
How this page is written
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