Nursing auxiliaries and assistants: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time nursing auxiliaries and assistants in the UK earned a median £29,084 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 26% 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 (88th from the bottom).
Pay is tightly bunched, from £21,609 at the 10th percentile to £38,440 at the 90th.
Median full-time pay: women £28,671 a year, men £30,158 a year.
About 58% of the roughly 515,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 the median has risen 30.1% (from £22,357), faster than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 337,700 people in this line of work, 14% of them in London.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, annual | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £21,609 | £463.20 | £12.38 | £9,547 | £201.30 | £12.36 |
| 20th percentile | £24,267 | £492.00 | £12.92 | £14,383 | £295.20 | £12.80 |
| 25th percentile | £25,189 | £505.90 | £13.13 | £16,283 | £337.80 | £13.12 |
| 30th percentile | £25,861 | £518.20 | £13.34 | £18,502 | £380.10 | £13.20 |
| 40th percentile | £27,344 | £548.00 | £13.95 | £22,237 | £454.40 | £13.87 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £29,084 | £579.20 | £14.67 | £24,761 | £492.20 | £14.60 |
| 60th percentile | £30,556 | £610.80 | £15.46 | £26,800 | £535.00 | £15.43 |
| 70th percentile | £32,265 | £654.30 | £16.26 | £29,264 | £582.00 | £16.48 |
| 75th percentile | £33,294 | £680.70 | £16.83 | £30,410 | £608.20 | £17.23 |
| 80th percentile | £34,639 | £708.90 | £17.58 | £31,846 | £642.60 | £17.99 |
| 90th percentile | £38,440 | £820.40 | £19.35 | £35,661 | £741.50 | £20.31 |
| Mean | £29,658 | £617.80 | £15.44 | £23,895 | £488.70 | £15.53 |
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 | £22,357 | £442.00 | £11.24 | £18,912 | £370.60 | 404 |
| 2022 revised | £22,996 | £466.40 | £11.71 | £19,267 | £391.10 | 494 |
| 2023 revised | £25,126 | £503.90 | £12.68 | £20,950 | £425.60 | 513 |
| 2024 revised | £28,034 | £549.10 | £13.79 | £23,483 | £461.60 | 580 |
| 2025 provisional | £29,084 | £579.20 | £14.67 | £24,761 | £492.20 | 515 |
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants by region
UK: 337,700 (± 22,500), April 2025 to March 2026.
| Region or nation | People in employment | 95% confidence interval |
|---|---|---|
| London | 46,400* | ± 11,100 |
| South East | 43,300 | ± 8,200 |
| Scotland | 34,700 | ± 6,700 |
| North West | 34,500* | ± 7,100 |
| West Midlands | 32,300* | ± 7,400 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 27,800* | ± 6,200 |
| East of England | 26,300* | ± 7,000 |
| South West | 25,800* | ± 5,800 |
| East Midlands | 24,000* | ± 6,500 |
| Wales | 20,100* | ± 4,000 |
| North East | 15,400* | ± 3,900 |
| Northern Ireland | 7,300* | ± 2,800 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What nursing auxiliaries and assistants do
Nursing auxiliaries and assistants assist doctors, nurses and other health professionals in caring for the sick and injured within hospitals, homes, clinics and the wider community. (ONS SOC 2020, 6131)
Also covers: auxiliary nurse, health care assistant (hospital service), health care support worker, nursing assistant, nursing auxiliary, anaesthetic assistant, ancillary nurse, ancillary worker, assistant nurse, blood collector, care worker, chiropody assistant, chiropractic assistant, clinic attendant, COVID immuniser, covid tester, covid vaccinator and cssd assistant (131 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Performs basic clinical tasks such as taking patients’ temperature and pulse, weighing and measuring, performing urine tests and extracting blood samples
- Prepares patient for examination and treatment
- Distributes and serves food, assists patients in feeding and prepares snacks and hot drinks
- Assists patients in washing, dressing, toiletry activities and general mobility
- Changes bed linen, makes beds and tidies wards
There are no formal academic entry requirements. Off and on-the-job training is provided. NVQs/ SVQs in Health and Social Care are available at levels 2 and 3.
Related
Caring personal services (median £28,513) · Ambulance staff (excluding paramedics) · Dental nurses · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026