Official annual estimates for the whole country, mapped to the closest published occupation.
United Kingdom · gross annual earnings estimate
25th percentile
£31,205
Median
£38,630
75th percentile
£50,494
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.
National median with 25th–75th percentile band, 2002–2025.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. Mapped to Office managers; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
Quick interpretation
The Office Manager benchmark is a national reference for full-time employee jobs classified under office managers (4141). It is a useful comparison when your role keeps an office or department running, but the match is not exact for every vacancy. Duties, employer, location and working pattern can change the offer, so compare like with like.
Benchmark fit
Why this benchmark applies to Office Manager
Office Manager fits the office managers occupation because the role centres on the day-to-day running of an office or department. The benchmark is broader than any one job description: some posts include budgets, reporting, staff support or recruitment, while others have a narrower operational remit.
Overlapping responsibilities
Both the named role and the mapped occupation cover keeping office operations moving from day to day.
Budget oversight, reports, staff procedures and recruitment support may sit within the role, but they are not part of every Office Manager post.
What the occupation combines
The occupation covers organising office operations, with possible quality-control, performance-monitoring and reporting work.
It can also include budget and expense management, staff development, recruitment support and liaison with finance or human resources.
A medical or government office assignment can add specialist tasks such as ordering supplies, maintaining filing systems or arranging meetings, but those examples do not define every Office Manager role. The benchmark should not be read as the exact pay for a particular employer's scope.
Role scope
What Office Manager work usually includes
An Office Manager keeps an office or department running day to day and may coordinate the operations, budgets and expenditure that support it.
Responsibilities
An Office Manager could organise and coordinate day-to-day office operations and develop quality-control processes. · Depending on the post, an Office Manager may manage an office budget or expenses, monitor expenditure and prepare reports for senior management. · An Office Manager could carry out appraisals, monitor performance and deal with disciplinary issues when those responsibilities sit with the post. · Depending on the employer, the role may support staff development, recruitment and training, and work with departments such as finance and human resources. · The role may call for organisation, written and verbal communication, problem solving and time management when coordinating meetings, activities, liaison work, reports and errands.
Typical outputs
The output is a smoothly coordinated office operation, with information, spending and people processes kept moving for the wider organisation.
Read the range
Three points, one pay distribution
A narrower Office Manager post may focus on coordinating daily operations and office administration. If the job mainly involves welcoming visitors, answering enquiries and managing bookings, compare it with the [Receptionist salary benchmark](/uk/salaries/receptionist). A broader Office Manager post may also own budgets, report to senior management, support recruitment and handle performance processes. Those responsibility differences help you compare roles, but they do not create fixed salary bands.
25th percentile
One quarter of employees earn below this figure.
Median
Half of employees earn below this figure and half above it; it is not the arithmetic midpoint of the displayed range.
75th percentile
One quarter of employees earn above this figure.
Location
Regional salary benchmarks
The benchmark is national rather than a local offer estimate. Supplementary regional medians are available for the listed UK regions, but location is only one factor alongside employer, duties and working pattern.
Regional 25th percentile, median, and 75th percentile salary estimates
Region
25th percentile
Median
75th percentile
East
Not published
£34,820
Not published
East Midlands
Not published
£34,390
Not published
London
Not published
£47,297
Not published
North East
Not published
£34,676
Not published
North West
Not published
£38,101
Not published
Scotland
Not published
£37,467
Not published
South East
Not published
£40,903
Not published
South West
Not published
£35,928
Not published
Wales
Not published
£39,296
Not published
Yorkshire and The Humber
Not published
£35,830
Not published
Use a regional figure as context, not as a promise of what a particular Office Manager vacancy will pay.
Beyond salary
Salary versus total compensation
Compare the offer's total gross cash on the same hours and annual-pay basis as the benchmark. Separate fixed salary from conditional cash, and check written terms for pension, health cover, leave or equity rather than assuming they are included.
Fixed pay: confirm the contracted annual salary, hours and whether overtime is paid separately.
Treat fixed salary as one part of the comparison, then add any variable cash the offer specifies.
Conditional cash: ask whether bonuses, commissions, overtime or shift premiums are available, how they are calculated and when they are paid.
These payments are part of gross cash earnings, but they are separate from fixed salary.
Benefits: check the employer's terms for pension contributions, health cover, paid leave and any equity; record each separately from cash pay.
The benchmark excludes payments in kind and is not the whole benefits package.
Offer review
How to evaluate your Office Manager offer
Are the quoted hours and annual salary comparable with a full-time employee benchmark, including any expected overtime?A different working pattern or pay basis can make two annual figures look comparable when they are not.
Which part of the cash figure is guaranteed, and which part depends on overtime, bonuses, commissions or premiums?Separate fixed pay from conditional earnings before judging the offer.
Does the job include budget control, reporting, staff appraisals, recruitment support or other duties described for the wider occupation?The occupation includes varied scopes, so the written responsibilities are important when you assess benchmark fit.
What pension, health, leave or equity terms are actually written into the offer?Benefits sit outside the gross cash benchmark and should be valued separately.
Compare roles
Roles near Office Manager
Receptionist
Different salary dataset
A Receptionist is usually the first point of contact for visitors and enquiries, while keeping bookings, correspondence and routine records moving. An Office Manager has a wider office-operations remit that may include budgets and reporting The roles use different occupation benchmarks, so Receptionist figures should not be substituted for the Office Manager benchmark.
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. The figures cover Office managers (4141) and full time employee jobs. Updated 15 October 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every Office Manager vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Build your Office Manager CV for the roles you want.
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.
