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
£39,645
Median
£53,703
75th percentile
£69,510
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 Marketing and commercial managers; the occupation is broader than the page role. Figures are estimates, not advertised salaries.
This benchmark uses the broader UK occupation of Marketing and commercial managers for a Social Media Manager. It is useful because social media management includes campaign strategy, performance analysis, reporting and work with marketing teams. It is not an exact salary for every Social Media Manager, since the broader occupation can include work beyond social channels.
Benchmark fit
The mapped occupation is a broad marketing and commercial management benchmark. It fits parts of Social Media Manager work that involve strategy, campaigns, analysis, recommendations and collaboration with marketing teams.
Working closely with marketing teams does not make Social Media Manager and broader Marketing Manager roles equivalent. Use the benchmark as context, then compare the actual remit of the role offered.
Role scope
A Social Media Manager develops and runs social activity intended to build audience participation and organisational visibility, then uses performance data to inform recommendations.
Develop social strategies and campaigns to increase audience size and participation. · Coordinate updates across the social media channels managed by the role. · Create and edit material such as articles, blog posts, video clips and reels. · Respond to posts, discussions and customer feedback. · Analyse campaign effectiveness and trends, then report insights and recommendations.
Social strategies and campaigns. · Edited social content, including articles, blog posts, video clips and reels. · Reports containing insights and recommendations.
This role has a specific social-channel remit: strategy, content, audience interaction, performance analysis and reporting.
This is the broader occupation used for the salary benchmark; collaboration with marketing teams does not establish that the roles are equivalent.
Read the range
When comparing an offer with the benchmark, read the job description closely. A Social Media Manager remit may include channel coordination, content creation, community responses, campaign analysis and reports with recommendations; the broader benchmark may also cover marketing and commercial management work outside that remit.
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 regional benchmark figures are available alongside the national benchmark.
| Region | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| East | Not published | £63,851 | Not published |
| London | Not published | £60,658 | Not published |
| North West | Not published | £48,865 | Not published |
| South East | Not published | £57,105 | Not published |
| South West | Not published | £41,963 | Not published |
| Wales | Not published | £57,791 | Not published |
| West Midlands | Not published | £52,379 | Not published |
Regional figures are supplementary. This remains a country-level occupational benchmark rather than a local offer estimate, and pay can differ by location, employer, duties and working pattern.
Beyond salary
Compare the offer on the same hours and annual-pay basis as the benchmark. Separate guaranteed salary from cash that depends on overtime, commission, bonuses, shifts or other conditions, then assess any non-cash benefits on their own terms.
Ask for the fixed annual salary and contracted hours, then compare like with like on an annual-pay and working-hours basis.
If the offer mentions bonus, commission, overtime or shift payments, ask what triggers payment, whether it is guaranteed and how it is calculated.
Check the stated terms of any pension, health cover, leave or equity separately. Payments in kind are not part of the gross-earnings measure.
Offer review
Questions
Source
Source: ONS, 2025-04-30. The figures cover Marketing and commercial managers (2432) and full time employee jobs. Updated 15 October 2026. This broad occupation benchmark may not match every Social Media Manager vacancy.
Put the benchmark to work
Use the salary range as context. Tailor your CV around the experience that supports your target level.
