Official ONS earnings · Updated September 2026
Bricklayer salary in the UK
Full-time employed bricklayers earn a median of £33,030 a year (£16.75 an hour), 15% below the £39,039 median for all UK full-time employees.
- Median yearly pay, full-time
- £33,030
- Median hourly pay
- £16.75
- Median weekly pay
- £645
- A quarter earn less than
- £28,106
Pay range
What bricklayers earn, from lowest to highest
Yearly pay for full-time employees at each point of the range (percentiles).
- 25% earn under£28,106
- 30% earn under£29,083
- 40% earn under£30,391
- Median (50%)£33,030
- 60% earn under£34,425
Points are shown only where ONS rates the estimate as reliable.
The trade in numbers
- 46,998 active specialist trade companies (the group that includes bricklaying) on Companies House.
- 46.5% of those set up in 2019–2020 were still going five years later.
- 11.9% are currently proposed for strike-off or in insolvency.
From our Trade Survival Index and Trade Index.
Qualifications
- A Level 2 or Level 3 bricklaying qualification, often through a 2 to 3 year apprenticeship.
- A CSCS card to work on most construction sites.
Self-employed
Self-employed bricklayer earnings
A large share of bricklayers are self-employed and paid by the day or by the thousand bricks laid, which can earn more than employed rates on busy sites. ONS figures cover employees only.
Working for yourself? Compare sole trader vs limited company, or work out CIS deductions and refunds.
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How it compares with other trades
See the full ranking of UK trade salaries, from air-conditioning engineers to gardeners, in the highest paid trades in the UK.
Hiring rather than training? Find local builders and bricklayers or get free quotes.
Bricklayer salary FAQs
Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 14, full-time employee jobs, UK: Bricklayers (SOC 5313). Excludes the self-employed. We'll update this page when ONS publishes the 2026 figures.