Local government administrative occupations: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time local government administrative occupations in the UK earned a median £30,886 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 21% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (118th from the bottom).
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £26,393 and £36,188.
Median full-time pay: women £30,104 a year, men £31,931 a year.
About 68% of the roughly 69,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 it has risen 16.1%, from £26,595, slower than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 156,600 people in this line of work, 13% of them in Northern Ireland.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £23,820 | £475.10 | £13.04 | £10,735* | £210.10 | £12.59 |
| 20th percentile | £25,612 | £501.00 | £13.85 | £16,442 | £326.20 | £13.27 |
| 25th percentile | £26,393 | £522.60 | £14.38 | £19,911 | £397.70 | £13.78 |
| 30th percentile | £27,286 | £545.30 | £14.83 | £21,679 | £458.30 | £14.16 |
| 40th percentile | £29,102 | £574.70 | £15.50 | £25,476 | £492.00 | £14.89 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £30,886 | £598.70 | £16.36 | £27,642 | £539.70 | £15.75 |
| 60th percentile | £32,765 | £631.40 | £17.28 | £30,060 | £577.80 | £16.68 |
| 70th percentile | £34,916 | £695.10 | £18.81 | £32,654 | £619.50 | £18.27 |
| 75th percentile | £36,188 | £711.50 | £19.69 | £33,933 | £657.90 | £19.02 |
| 80th percentile | £37,323 | £746.90 | £20.16 | £35,279 | £699.20 | £19.87 |
| 90th percentile | – | – | – | – | £781.80 | £21.70 |
| Mean | £31,928 | £632.90 | £17.19 | £26,982 | £523.80 | £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 | £26,595 | £518.10 | £14.01 | £22,360 | £457.20 | 38 |
| 2022 revised | £25,669 | £491.70 | £13.24 | £22,250 | £432.10 | 44 |
| 2023 revised | £27,604 | £533.10 | £14.41 | £24,542 | £474.90 | 44 |
| 2024 revised | £30,298 | £570.70 | £15.49 | £27,129 | £520.70 | 53 |
| 2025 provisional | £30,886 | £598.70 | £16.36 | £27,642 | £539.70 | 69 |
Local government administrative occupations by region
UK: 156,600 (± 15,300), April 2025 to March 2026. 3 of the 12 regions and nations have samples too small to publish.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| Northern Ireland | 20,700* | ± 4,600 |
| South East | 18,400* | ± 5,400 |
| North West | 17,600* | ± 5,100 |
| London | 17,500* | ± 6,800 |
| Scotland | 14,300* | ± 4,300 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 13,500* | ± 4,300 |
| South West | 10,500* | ± 3,700 |
| North East | 7,900* | ± 2,800 |
| Wales | 7,300* | ± 2,400 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What local government administrative occupations do
Local government administrative occupations undertake a variety of administrative and clerical duties in local government offices and departments. (ONS SOC 2020, 4112)
Also covers: administrative assistant (local government), administrative officer (police service), benefits assistant (local government), clerical officer (local government), local government officer, parish clerk, admin assistant, admin officer, administration assistant, administration officer, administrative assistant, administrative officer, arrears officer, assessment officer, authorised officer, benefit adviser, benefit assessor and benefit assistant (116 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Computes cost of product/services and maintains and balances records of financial transactions
- Prepares and checks invoices and verifies accuracy of records
- Receives and pays out cash and cheques and performs closely related clerical duties
- Updates and maintains data, correspondence and other records for storage or despatch
- Arranges, classifies and indexes publications, correspondence and other material in libraries and offices
- Performs other clerical duties not elsewhere classified including preparing financial information for management, proof reading printed material and drafting letters in reply to correspondence or telephone enquiries
Entry is most common with GCSEs/S grades. Evidence of keyboard skills may also be required in some posts. Off and on-the-job training is provided. NVQs/SVQs in Administration are available at levels 2 and 3.
Related
Administrative occupations: government and related organisations (median £32,084) · National government administrative occupations · Officers of non-governmental organisations · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026