UK-Based Economist Salary Benchmarks - 2024/25

A client recently asked me for salary data on UK-based economists, so I wanted to share these figures in case others find them helpful. Typically, when benchmarking, we break it down into more levels with closer experience bands, but this is what was requested.

💡 𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬:
Salaries primarily reflect economists with a Bachelor’s/Master’s rather than PhDs, as the latter tend to command significantly different salaries.
The mid-tier range is quite broad, as responsibilities can vary greatly between someone with 3 years vs. 6-7 years of experience.
Investment banking bonuses fluctuate widely based on firm, tier, and ranking—someone could receive a 20% bonus while another with a similar background receives 80%.

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬
📊 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭 (2-3 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞)
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦: £55-75k + 15-25%
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫:£60-80k + 20-30%
𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤:  £60-90k + 20-30%

📊 𝐌𝐢𝐝-𝐋𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭 (3-7 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞)
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦: £60-110k + 20-50%
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫: £75-110k + 20-60%
𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤: £80-130k + 25-50%

📊 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟 𝐄𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭 (7/10+ 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬' 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞)
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐦: £120-180k + 50-70%
𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫: £130-180k + 30-60%
𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤: £160-220k + 50-100%

These figures reflect general market trends, but of course, there are always outliers. Hope this is useful for anyone assessing the market!