Highest Paid Jobs in Manchester

Based on ONS ASHE 2025 data — North West region

These are the 20 highest-paying occupations in the North West region, which includes Manchester. The average salary across all jobs in Manchester is £36,554 per year.

Source: ONS ASHE 2025
Occupation	Median Salary	vs Local Average
1. Specialist medical practitioners	£83,567	+£47,013 (128.6% above)
2. Information technology directors	£80,828	+£44,274 (121.1% above)
3. Marketing, sales and advertising directors	£79,816	+£43,262 (118.4% above)
4. Head teachers and principals	£74,657	+£38,103 (104.2% above)
5. Energy plant operatives	£63,662	+£27,108 (74.2% above)
6. Senior police officers	£63,614	+£27,060 (74.0% above)
7. Electrical engineers	£61,782	+£25,228 (69.0% above)
8. Financial managers and directors	£58,206	+£21,652 (59.2% above)
9. Business and financial project management professionals	£57,368	+£20,814 (56.9% above)
10. IT managers	£56,622	+£20,068 (54.9% above)
11. Production managers and directors in mining and energy	£55,896	+£19,342 (52.9% above)
12. Engineering project managers and project engineers	£55,767	+£19,213 (52.6% above)
13. Crane drivers	£53,511	+£16,957 (46.4% above)
14. Rail transport operatives	£53,103	+£16,549 (45.3% above)
15. Health services and public health managers and directors	£52,244	+£15,690 (42.9% above)
16. Sales accounts and business development managers	£52,074	+£15,520 (42.5% above)
17. Cyber security professionals	£51,954	+£15,400 (42.1% above)
18. Research and development (R&D) managers	£51,354	+£14,800 (40.5% above)
19. Generalist medical practitioners	£50,806	+£14,252 (39.0% above)
20. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers	£50,526	+£13,972 (38.2% above)

About this data

Occupation salaries cover the North West region. The local average salary is specific to Manchester. Source: ONS ASHE 2025.