Registered mental health nurses: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time registered mental health nurses in the UK earned a median £42,692 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): £3,653 above the all-jobs median of £39,039.
What the figures show
That ranks 111th of 382 occupations on this measure.
The middle half of full-time jobs paid between £37,229 and £48,074.
Median full-time pay: women £40,653 a year, men £45,248 a year.
About 71% of the roughly 28,000 employee jobs are full-time.
Since 2021 it has risen 18.8%, from £35,937, slower than the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 59,900 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 | – | £614.30 | £16.40 | – | £432.30 | £16.38 |
| 20th percentile | £35,229 | £684.80 | £18.31 | £28,675* | £574.40 | £18.38 |
| 25th percentile | £37,229 | £709.30 | £18.84 | £31,368 | £603.20 | £18.85 |
| 30th percentile | £38,507 | £722.00 | £19.09 | £33,096 | £649.40 | £19.11 |
| 40th percentile | £40,917 | £755.20 | £20.00 | £37,948 | £701.90 | £20.00 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £42,692 | £788.50 | £20.74 | £40,028 | £731.30 | £21.00 |
| 60th percentile | £44,968 | £861.70 | £22.47 | £42,522 | £776.40 | £22.99 |
| 70th percentile | £46,037 | £917.90 | £24.12 | £45,066 | £861.70 | £23.98 |
| 75th percentile | £48,074* | £930.60 | £24.81 | £45,647* | £902.40 | £24.81 |
| 80th percentile | – | £948.40* | £25.18 | – | £930.00* | £25.21 |
| Mean | £42,834 | £833.40 | £21.80 | £38,561 | £742.90 | £21.89 |
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 | £35,937 | £764.80 | £19.94 | £33,702 | £664.40 | 19* |
| 2022 revised | £39,890 | £773.10 | £20.22 | £33,787 | £646.30 | 17* |
| 2023 revised | £44,370 | £864.70 | £22.43 | £38,133* | £778.80 | 13* |
| 2024 revised | £41,660 | £816.80 | £21.86 | £38,573 | £715.80 | 21* |
| 2025 provisional | £42,692 | £788.50 | £20.74 | £40,028 | £731.30 | 28 |
Registered mental health nurses by region
UK: 59,900 (± 9,500), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What registered mental health nurses do
Registered mental health nurses support and care for people with a range of mental health conditions, in hospital and community settings, and help them towards recovery and management of their conditions. (ONS SOC 2020, 2235)
Also covers: community mental health nurse, psychiatric nurse, community psychiatric nurse, registered nurse (mental health) and staff nurse (mental health).
- Provides day to day support for and, in some cases, physical care for patients with a variety of mental health conditions
- Participates in the preparation for physical and psychological treatment of patients with mental health conditions
- Monitors patient’s progress, encourages patients to participate in different therapies
- Administers drugs and gives other forms of treatment
- Works with other mental health professionals
- Provides information to patients and their families about a patient's condition, how to manage it and possible treatments
Entrants will need a degree level qualification in mental health nursing, an enhanced DBS check, and registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Related
Nursing professionals (median £43,078) · Registered nurse practitioners · Registered children's nurses · salary percentile · UK average weekly earnings growth · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026