Sales and retail assistants salary in the UK
The median full-time salary for sales and retail assistants in the UK is £25,056 (ONS, 2025). After tax and National Insurance at 2026/27 rates that is about £1,797 a month.
Pay range for sales and retail assistants
This is the ONS occupation group "Sales and retail assistants" (SOC 2020 code 7111). ONS figures for 2025 show that one in ten earn less than £17,996, a quarter earn less than £21,970, half earn less than £25,056, a quarter earn more than £29,846 and one in ten earn more than £35,804.
| Point in the pay range | Gross a year | Gross a month | Take-home a year | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £17,996 | £1,500 | £16,477 | £1,373 |
| 25th percentile | £21,970 | £1,831 | £19,338 | £1,612 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £25,056 | £2,088 | £21,560 | £1,797 |
| 75th percentile | £29,846 | £2,487 | £25,009 | £2,084 |
| 90th percentile | £35,804 | £2,984 | £29,298 | £2,442 |
Take-home at England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. ONS rates the median for sales and retail assistants as precise: its sampling error (coefficient of variation) is 1.1%. ONS estimates about 245,000 full-time employee jobs in this occupation. ONS says job counts like this are indicative only.
Where sales and retail assistants rank
The median for sales and retail assistants ranks 343rd of 362 occupations on this site, in the bottom quarter, and 13th of 15 in sales and customer service occupations. It is £13,983 (35.8%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs. ONS change on the previous year: the median for sales and retail assistants rose 5.5%, more than the 4.3% rise in the UK median for all full-time jobs.
Jobs with the nearest medians: Other elementary services occupations n.e.c. (£25,344), Housekeepers and related occupations (£25,335), Animal care services occupations n.e.c. (£25,067), Shelf fillers (£24,896), Sewing machinists (£24,813) and Early education and childcare assistants (£24,742).
How spread out pay is
The 90th percentile (£35,804) is 2.0 times the 10th (£17,996). That is a narrower spread than for all UK full-time jobs, where it is 3.2 times. The middle half of full-time sales and retail assistants earn between £21,970 and £29,846, a gap of £7,876, or 31.4% of the median. That is £16,871 narrower than the £24,747 gap for all UK jobs, and the 192nd widest of the 223 jobs where ONS published both figures, one of the narrower middle ranges.
The mean for sales and retail assistants (total pay divided by the number of employees) is £25,977, which is £921 (3.7%) higher than the median. When the mean is above the median, a smaller number of higher salaries are pulling the average up. For all UK full-time jobs the mean is 24.3% above the median, so the gap for sales and retail assistants is smaller.
Sales and retail assistants and related jobs
Among these 5 jobs in the same ONS minor group, this one has the 3rd highest median. The highest median among them is £31,851 (vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers) and the lowest £23,783 (pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants).
| Job | SOC code | Median salary | Take-home a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vehicle and parts salespersons and advisers | 7115 | £31,851 | £2,204 |
| Telephone salespersons | 7113 | £30,495 | £2,123 |
| Sales and retail assistants | 7111 | £25,056 | £1,797 |
| Retail cashiers and check-out operators | 7112 | £24,622 | £1,771 |
| Pharmacy and optical dispensing assistants | 7114 | £23,783 | £1,720 |
Take-home pay against all jobs
At the median, sales and retail assistants take home about £1,797 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sales and retail assistants | £25,056 | £1,797 | £1,800 |
| All full-time employee jobs, UK | £39,039 | £2,636 | £2,631 |
Related pages
All jobs in the Sales and customer service occupations table, average salary by area, the take home pay calculator, salary to hourly calculator and pay rise calculator.
How this is worked out
Pay: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), 2025 provisional, SOC 2020 unit group 7111. 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 £25,056, take-home pay is about £1,797 a month (£21,560 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 £1,800 a month.
ONS figures for full-time jobs (2025) show that one in ten earn less than £17,996, a quarter earn less than £21,970, half earn less than £25,056, a quarter earn more than £29,846 and one in ten earn more than £35,804.
No. The median for sales and retail assistants is £25,056, which is £13,983 (35.8%) lower than the UK median of £39,039 for all full-time employee jobs (ONS, 2025). It ranks 343rd of 362 occupations on this site.