Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics): average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) in the UK earned a median £33,465 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): £5,574 below the all-jobs median of £39,039.
What the figures show
That puts it 221st of 382, in the middle third of occupations.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £28,605 and £40,389.
Median full-time pay: women £33,873 a year, men £32,952 a year.
About 76% of the roughly 25,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £26,425 in 2021, the median is up 26.6%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 31,800 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £25,122* | £491.70 | £12.67 | – | £294.50* | £12.60 |
| 20th percentile | £27,403 | £525.50 | £13.24 | £20,812* | £471.90 | £13.19 |
| 25th percentile | £28,605 | £557.20 | £13.67 | £24,967* | £491.50 | £13.63 |
| 30th percentile | £29,844 | £574.20 | £14.19 | £26,445 | £501.80 | £13.75 |
| 40th percentile | £31,579 | £595.90 | £15.34 | £29,281 | £558.80 | £14.93 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £33,465 | £622.10 | £15.90 | £31,516 | £595.80 | £15.59 |
| 60th percentile | £35,561 | £663.20 | £16.80 | £33,662 | £630.20 | £16.20 |
| 70th percentile | £37,755 | £725.00 | £17.88 | £36,531 | £697.00 | £17.61 |
| 75th percentile | £40,389 | £740.60 | £19.01 | £37,613 | £728.30 | £18.70 |
| 80th percentile | – | £805.80 | £20.19* | £40,598* | £740.90* | £19.59 |
| Mean | £35,058 | £676.00 | £17.03 | £31,328 | £602.80 | £16.83 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £26,425 | £497.30 | £12.05 | £25,520 | £450.50 | 24 |
| 2022 revised | £27,486 | £521.60 | £12.90 | £25,051 | £502.50 | 20 |
| 2023 revised | £29,086 | £563.30 | £13.61 | £26,138 | £532.40 | 24 |
| 2024 revised | £31,174 | £579.50 | £14.75 | £28,579 | £542.30 | 24 |
| 2025 provisional | £33,465 | £622.10 | £15.90 | £31,516 | £595.80 | 25 |
Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) by region
UK: 31,800 (± 6,900), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) do
Ambulance staff transport sick, injured and convalescent persons and give first aid treatment in emergencies and check ambulance vehicles are roadworthy, cleaned and have all the necessary equipment. (ONS SOC 2020, 6132)
Also covers: ambulance care assistant, ambulance driver, ambulance service preparation operative, ambulance technician, emergency medical technician, ambulance attendant, ambulance driver-attendant, offshore medic, pts driver, section leader, shift leader, team leader, ambulance patient carer, ambulance resource assistant, ambulance room attendant, ambulance station attendant, emergency ambulance crew and emergency care assistant (30 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Helps patients into and out of ambulance
- Drives ambulance or accompanies driver to transport patients to hospitals or other treatment centres and homes
- Ascertains nature of injuries and provides first aid treatment
- Cleans and disinfects ambulance after use and carries out routine care of ambulance equipment
- Replenishes medical supplies in ambulance as necessary
- Checks and maintains vehicles to ensure they are roadworthy
Academic qualifications are not normally required. Entry requirements vary between ambulance services. Entrants must normally have possessed a full clean driving licence for one to two years and have health clearance. Entrants undertake a minimum of 2 weeks training in first aid and patient care. Successful trainees are then attached to an ambulance station where they work under the guidance of a trained supervisor for a probationary period before working unsupervised.
Related
Caring personal services (median £28,513) · Nursing auxiliaries and assistants · Dental nurses · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026