Specialist medical practitioners and consultants: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time specialist medical practitioners and consultants in the UK earned a median £92,847 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 138% more than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
Only 2 of 382 occupations with a published full-time median are higher.
Pay is widely spread: the 90th percentile (£168,980) is 3.4 times the 10th (£49,574).
Median full-time pay: women £84,846 a year, men £98,653 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
About 79% of the roughly 242,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £75,114 in 2021, the median is up 23.6%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 154,900 people in this line of work, 17% 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 | £49,574 | £1,047.00 | £27.25 | £41,974 | £889.10 | £27.88 |
| 20th percentile | £62,906 | £1,226.30 | £31.75 | £56,902 | £1,119.10 | £32.47 |
| 25th percentile | £67,335 | £1,297.80 | £33.23 | £61,823 | £1,207.30 | £34.17 |
| 30th percentile | £72,485 | £1,349.70 | £34.72 | £66,926 | £1,295.40 | £35.94 |
| 40th percentile | £81,408 | £1,517.50 | £38.10 | £77,242 | £1,449.00 | £39.90 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £92,847 | £1,655.60 | £41.84 | £88,997 | £1,611.20 | £45.05 |
| 60th percentile | £108,104 | £1,876.60 | £47.27 | £102,306 | £1,837.90 | £52.14 |
| 70th percentile | £125,202 | £2,159.50 | £54.92 | £119,147 | £2,099.30 | £61.30 |
| 75th percentile | £136,100 | £2,306.10 | £58.86 | £127,271 | £2,252.50 | £65.42 |
| 80th percentile | £143,799 | £2,492.40 | £63.26 | £138,170 | £2,415.10 | £69.25 |
| 90th percentile | £168,980* | £2,970.60 | £72.87 | £163,434 | £2,860.20 | – |
| Mean | £103,044 | £1,891.50 | £47.84 | £97,083 | £1,796.30 | £51.71 |
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 | £75,114 | £1,317.30 | £32.78 | £66,763 | £1,229.60 | 178 |
| 2022 revised | £68,712 | £1,352.00 | £33.28 | £63,861 | £1,283.90 | 196 |
| 2023 revised | £69,605 | £1,314.90 | £33.43 | £70,536 | £1,346.10 | 213 |
| 2024 revised | £76,089 | £1,479.10 | £36.54 | £70,142 | £1,410.10 | 258 |
| 2025 provisional | £92,847 | £1,655.60 | £41.84 | £88,997 | £1,611.20 | 242 |
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants by region
UK: 154,900 (± 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 |
|---|---|---|
| London | 27,100* | ± 8,500 |
| North West | 19,400* | ± 5,300 |
| South East | 17,000* | ± 5,200 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 16,100* | ± 4,700 |
| West Midlands | 14,500* | ± 5,000 |
| East of England | 12,500* | ± 4,800 |
| East Midlands | 12,100* | ± 4,600 |
| South West | 12,000* | ± 3,900 |
| Scotland | 10,200* | ± 3,700 |
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What specialist medical practitioners and consultants do
Specialist medical practitioners and consultants specialise in particular areas of modern medicine, diagnose mental and physical injuries, disorders and diseases within their specialism, prescribe and give treatment, recommend preventative action, and conduct medical education and research activities (ONS SOC 2020, 2212)
Also covers: anaesthetist, consultant (hospital service), homeopath (medically qualified), medical acupuncturist, paediatrician, psychiatrist, radiologist, surgeon, associate specialist, cardiology registrar, clinical fellow, consultant (medical), consultant anaesthetist, consultant cardiologist, consultant gastroenterologist, consultant haematologist, consultant intensivist and consultant nephrologist (90 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Examines patient, arranges for any necessary x-rays or other tests and interprets results
- Diagnoses condition and prescribes and/or administers appropriate treatment/surgery
- Administers medical tests and inoculations against communicable diseases
- Supervises patient’s progress and advises on diet, exercise and other preventative action
- Provides specialist advice to generalist medical practitioners or other specialists
- Performs specialist medical tasks such as surgery, anaesthetisation and diagnostic or interventional radiology
Entrants require a university degree from a medical school recognised by the General Medical Council followed by two years of pre-registration training as a house officer, and further postgraduate training in a chosen speciality. Some medical schools operate graduate entry schemes.
Related
Medical practitioners (median £78,796) · Generalist medical practitioners · Physiotherapists · salary percentile · Average weekly hours worked in the UK · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026