Highest Paid Jobs in Sunderland

Based on ONS ASHE 2025 data — North East region

These are the 20 highest-paying occupations in the North East region, which includes Sunderland. The average salary across all jobs in Sunderland is £28,214 per year.

Source: ONS ASHE 2025
Occupation	Median Salary	vs Local Average
1. Aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers	£72,472	+£44,258 (156.9% above)
2. Information technology directors	£72,018	+£43,804 (155.3% above)
3. Head teachers and principals	£71,526	+£43,312 (153.5% above)
4. Rail transport operatives	£61,477	+£33,263 (117.9% above)
5. Research and development (R&D) managers	£60,883	+£32,669 (115.8% above)
6. Sales accounts and business development managers	£57,895	+£29,681 (105.2% above)
7. Construction project managers and related professionals	£55,195	+£26,981 (95.6% above)
8. IT managers	£54,629	+£26,415 (93.6% above)
9. Programmers and software development professionals	£54,279	+£26,065 (92.4% above)
10. Functional managers and directors n.e.c.	£49,877	+£21,663 (76.8% above)
11. IT business analysts, architects and systems designers	£49,429	+£21,215 (75.2% above)
12. Management consultants and business analysts	£49,267	+£21,053 (74.6% above)
13. Specialist nurses	£48,666	+£20,452 (72.5% above)
14. Police officers (sergeant and below)	£48,045	+£19,831 (70.3% above)
15. Rail travel assistants	£47,622	+£19,408 (68.8% above)
16. Managers in transport and distribution	£45,905	+£17,691 (62.7% above)
17. Medical radiographers	£45,791	+£17,577 (62.3% above)
18. Engineering professionals n.e.c.	£45,705	+£17,491 (62.0% above)
19. Information technology professionals n.e.c.	£45,159	+£16,945 (60.1% above)
20. Skilled metal, electrical and electronic trades supervisors	£45,000	+£16,786 (59.5% above)

About this data

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