Official pay data
Updated 15 October 2026
Salary guide
Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United Kingdom · gross annual earnings estimate
25th percentile
£36,192
Median
£42,300
75th percentile
£49,866
This ASHE benchmark covers full-time employee jobs, not self-employed income or part-time jobs. ASHE gross earnings include basic pay, overtime, incentive pay such as bonuses and commissions, shift premiums, and other cash pay. They are before deductions, exclude payments in kind, and are not take-home pay or the whole benefits package. Compare the benchmark with an offer on the same working-hours and annual-pay basis.
This is a country-level occupation benchmark, not a local offer estimate. Pay can differ by location, employer, duties, and working pattern.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. Mapped to Other nursing professionals; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
For an ICU nurse, the national benchmark is a useful reference for full-time nursing employment, because intensive care is recognised as a nursing specialism. It is still a broad comparison: the occupation covers other nursing professionals, while the supplied profile does not set out a complete ICU-specific duty list or a separate ICU nurse occupation.
Benchmark fit
The mapped occupation is useful because the UK nursing profile places intensive care among the areas in which nurses can specialise. That supports a broad benchmark for an ICU nurse's employee role. The comparison stops short of treating the occupation as an ICU-only classification: the profile describes nursing generally and does not define the full boundary between intensive care and adjacent nursing roles.
The supplied national profile supports nursing and intensive care specialism context, not a complete ICU practice description, a seniority ladder or a distinct ICU occupation.
Role scope
An ICU nurse is a nurse working in the intensive care specialism. The national profile is useful for the shared nursing scope, but it does not describe every ICU-specific responsibility.
Assess patients' needs to identify whether they need immediate attention. · Monitor patient progress, update medical records and work with doctors and the wider healthcare team. · Administer certain medicines, treat wounds and set up drips where those duties form part of the nursing assignment.
The role's practical output is ongoing patient assessment and care, recorded in medical notes and coordinated with the wider healthcare team.
Read the range
A useful comparison is responsibility scope: an ICU nurse's post may combine the general nursing duties listed here with intensive care specialism, whereas another role in the same broad occupation may involve a different nursing setting or patient need. That difference describes the work; it does not create a separate salary band.
One quarter of employees earn below this figure.
Half of employees earn below this figure and half above it; it is not the arithmetic midpoint of the displayed range.
One quarter of employees earn above this figure.
Location
Supplementary benchmark medians are available for the listed UK regions, including London, Scotland, Wales and the English regions. Use them as regional context alongside the national occupation comparison.
| Region | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Not published | £42,557 | Not published |
| East Midlands | Not published | £39,216 | Not published |
| London | Not published | £47,282 | Not published |
| North East | Not published | £40,832 | Not published |
| North West | Not published | £39,501 | Not published |
| Scotland | Not published | £45,024 | Not published |
| South East | Not published | £42,038 | Not published |
| South West | Not published | £41,660 | Not published |
| Wales | Not published | £40,493 | Not published |
| West Midlands | Not published | £40,594 | Not published |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | Not published | £39,071 | Not published |
The benchmark is country-level rather than a local offer estimate. Pay can differ with location, employer, duties and working pattern.
Beyond salary
Compare an offer on the same annual-pay and working-hours basis as the benchmark. Separate fixed salary from any conditional cash, then review benefits as their own part of the package.
Check whether the quoted amount is basic pay or a wider gross-cash figure that also includes overtime, bonuses, commissions, shift premiums or other cash payments.
If overtime, incentive pay or shift premiums are offered, ask what triggers payment and whether the headline figure assumes those payments.
Review pension, health cover, leave and any other benefits separately because the gross-earnings measure excludes payments in kind and is not the whole benefits package.
Employment model
This benchmark is intended for full-time employee jobs. It is not a measure of self-employed income or part-time pay.
Match the offer's contracted hours and annual-pay basis before comparing it with the benchmark.
Do not treat this employee benchmark as a direct estimate of self-employed income or part-time earnings.
Offer review
Questions
Source
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. The figures cover Other nursing professionals (2237) and full time employee jobs. Updated 15 October 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every ICU Nurse vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.
