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Psychology Graduate Salary (UK, 2022-23)
UK graduates who studied Psychology had a median salary of £28,100 five years after graduating (£21,500 one year after) — ranked #28 of 34 subjects, below the £31,400 all-subject median. A median, not a guarantee. Real DfE LEO data (OGL v3.0).
What is the typical graduate salary for a Psychology degree in the UK?
UK graduates who studied Psychology had a median salary of £28,100 five years after graduating (and £21,500 one year after) — ranking #28 of 34 subjects and below the £31,400 all-subject median. This is the typical (median) graduate in sustained employment: half earned more, half less. It is not a guarantee. Source: DfE LEO, 2022-23 tax year (OGL v3.0).
This page shows the typical (median) salary of UK graduates who studied Psychology, from the Department for Education’s Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data. The median is the middle graduate in sustained employment — half earned more and half earned less — so it describes a typical outcome rather than a promise. The quartiles below show how wide the range is.
Psychology graduate earnings — the numbers
| Measure | Psychology | All subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Median, 1 year after graduating | £21,500 | — |
| Median, 5 years after graduating | £28,100 | £31,400 |
| Lower quartile (5 years) | £22,300 | — |
| Upper quartile (5 years) | £35,000 | — |
| Rank by 5-year median | #28 of 34 | — |
Based on 13,340 graduates in the five-year cohort (2016/17). The DfE LEO release publishes one-year and five-year medians (separate cohorts), so a three-year figure is not available for this subject; earnings typically rise with experience between the two points shown.
What this means
A median of £28,100 places Psychology at #28 of 34 subjects, £3,300 below the £31,400 all-subject median. Because half of Psychology graduates earned between £22,300 and £35,000, the subject you study is only one of many factors — role, employer, region and experience all shape what an individual actually earns.
Graduate salary comparator
Pick a degree subject to compare its typical (median) graduate earnings against the all-subject median. Every figure is a real published DfE LEO median — not a guarantee.
Median, 1 year after
£21,500
Median, 5 years after
£28,100
Rank (of 34)
#28
The middle 50% of Psychology graduates earned between £22,300 and £35,000 five years on. That five-year median is £3,300 below the £31,400 all-subject median.
Medians, not guarantees or averages. Figures are DfE LEO medians for UK-domiciled first-degree graduates of English providers in sustained employment. Individual earnings vary by role, employer, region and experience. Nothing here is modelled or interpolated.
Psychology graduate salary — FAQ
- What is the typical salary for Psychology graduates five years after graduating?
- The median salary for UK graduates who studied Psychology was £28,100 five years after graduating (the 2016/17 cohort, measured in the 2022-23 tax year). The median is the middle graduate in sustained employment — half earned more and half earned less. The middle 50% earned between £22,300 (lower quartile) and £35,000 (upper quartile). Source: DfE LEO, OGL v3.0.
- What do Psychology graduates earn one year after graduating?
- One year after graduating, the median salary for Psychology graduates was £21,500 (a later cohort, also measured in the 2022-23 tax year). Earnings typically rise with experience, which is why the five-year median (£28,100) is higher. Source: DfE LEO, OGL v3.0.
- Where does Psychology rank among UK degree subjects for earnings?
- By five-year median earnings, Psychology ranks #28 of 34 subjects in the DfE LEO data. Its £28,100 median is below the £31,400 all-subject median. Rankings reflect typical outcomes by subject, not the earning potential of any one graduate. Source: DfE LEO, OGL v3.0.
- Is a Psychology graduate guaranteed to earn this much?
- No. £28,100 is the median — the typical graduate, not a guarantee or an average. Half of Psychology graduates earned less and half earned more; the middle 50% earned between £22,300 and £35,000. Individual earnings depend on role, employer, region and experience. Source: DfE LEO, OGL v3.0.
- Is this real government data?
- Yes. Every figure is a published DfE "LEO Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes" median for the 2022-23 tax year, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The figures cover UK-domiciled first-degree graduates of English higher education providers in sustained employment. No figure is modelled, estimated, or interpolated.
Compare with similar-earning subjects
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Source: DfE — LEO Graduate and Postgraduate Outcomes, Tax year 2022-23. Figures are for 2022-23 UK tax year (DfE LEO graduate outcomes), covering UK-domiciled first-degree graduates of English higher education providers in sustained employment. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The £28,100 headline is a median — the typical graduate, not an average and not a guarantee. The one-year and five-year figures are separate cohorts. Last refreshed 2026-06-25. No figure is modelled or interpolated.