Head teachers and principals salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for head teachers and principals in the UK is £72,192 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £4,369 a month.
Pay range for head teachers and principals
This is the ONS occupation group "Head teachers and principals" (SOC 2020 code 2321). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £46,905, a quarter earn less than £59,307, half earn less than £72,192 and a quarter earn more than £83,623.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £46,905 | £3,909 | £37,291 | £3,108 |
| 25th percentile | £59,307 | £4,942 | £44,955 | £3,746 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £72,192 | £6,016 | £52,429 | £4,369 |
| 75th percentile | £83,623 | £6,969 | £59,059 | £4,922 |
| 90th percentile | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. Not published means ONS did not publish that figure because the estimate is not reliable enough. ONS rates the median for head teachers and principals as precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 3.8%. ONS estimates about 48,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where head teachers and principals rank
The median for head teachers and principals ranks 10th of 362 occupations on this site, in the top quarter, and 2nd of 91 in professional occupations. It is £33,153 (84.9%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for head teachers and principals rose 1.7%, less than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Financial managers and directors (£76,447), Train and tram drivers (£76,327), Functional managers and directors n.e.c. (£75,711), Senior police officers (£66,690), Rail and rolling stock builders and repairers (£64,322) and Production managers and directors in mining and energy (£63,241).
How spread out pay is
The middle half of full-time head teachers and principals earn between £59,307 and £83,623, a gap of £24,316, or 33.7% of the median. That is £431 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 40th widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, one of the wider middle ranges.
The mean for head teachers and principals (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £73,342, which is £1,150 (1.6%) higher than the median. The two are close, so very high or very low salaries are not pulling the average far from the middle. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for head teachers and principals is smaller.
Head teachers and principals and related jobs
Among these 5 jobs in the same ONS minor group, this one has the highest median. The highest median among them is £72,192 (head teachers and principals) and the lowest £30,140 (early education and childcare services managers).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head teachers and principals | 2321 | £72,192 | £4,369 |
| Education managers | 2322 | £46,581 | £3,088 |
| Education advisers and school inspectors | 2323 | £44,549 | £2,966 |
| Other educational professionals n.e.c | 2329 | £39,114 | £2,640 |
| Early education and childcare services managers | 2324 | £30,140 | £2,102 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, head teachers and principals take home about £4,369 a month, against £2,636 on the UK median for all jobs. Scotland has its own income tax bands, so take-home pay on the same salary is different there.
| Group | Median a year | Take-home a month | Take-home a month in Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Head teachers and principals | £72,192 | £4,369 | £4,203 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Professional occupations table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator. For teachers' pay scales, see the teacher pay calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 2321. Take-home: 2026/27 rates, tax code 1257L, no pension or student loan. How to read these figures.
Sources
- ASHE Table 14: earnings by occupation (4-digit SOC), 2025 provisional (ONS)
- ASHE Table 7: earnings by place of work, local authority, 2025 provisional (ONS)
- SOC 2020 Volume 1: structure and descriptions of unit groups (ONS)
- Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances (GOV.UK)
- Scottish Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- National Insurance: how much you pay (GOV.UK)
Figures checked on 12 October 2026. ONS plans to publish its next ASHE figures on 22 October 2026. Read how we calculate or tell us about a mistake.
Frequently asked questions
On the median full-time salary of £72,192, take-home pay is about £4,369 a month (£52,429 a year) after 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance, with tax code 1257L and no pension or student loan. In Scotland, where income tax is different, it is about £4,203 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £46,905, a quarter earn less than £59,307, half earn less than £72,192 and a quarter earn more than £83,623. ONS did not publish every point in the range because some estimates are not reliable enough.
Yes. The median for head teachers and principals is £72,192, which is £33,153 (84.9%) higher than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 10th of 362 occupations on this site.