Press Statement: 2025
1st November 2025
As of 1st November 2025, we continue to advocate on behalf of the hard-working professionals who make this industry possible.
Our 2025 data reveals a profession still struggling to reward its youngest members fairly. We also continue to engage with our community, and it is abundantly clear that employees are still struggling with little support to address working conditions. As a result, valuable talent continues to walk away from the profession in hope of increased wages and a more sustainable work-life balance.
While salaries are rising incrementally, they are still not keeping pace with inflation, the cost of living, or the value of architectural labour.
- Unpaid overtime remains endemic across all levels.
- Regional disparities persist, with London offering higher salaries but also higher workloads.
- Living wage compliance is still elusive for many practices, particularly for Part I and II assistants.
Key modifications to our 2025 survey:
- Employers can now submit their own data via our website.
- Employers still have the opportunity to submit the benefits they offer employees, whereas the first year is now free of charge.
- Updated Living Wage thresholds.
We thank all those who have supported us this far, and welcome support and collaboration from practices in hope of a stable future for practices and their workforce.
View our latest survey results here
Are you an employer? Click here for the Pay 100 employer area
Press Statement: 2024
1st November 2024
As of 1st November 2024, we publish another series of illuminating survey results.
Our 2024 results indicate that there has been a marked increase in reported salaries for Architects/ Architectural Designers, though no significant improvement for Part I and Part II positions. This comes at a time of continued austerity and further increasing cost of living*. In parallel, we have received unusually high reports of talented employees sadly leaving the profession with economic opportunity playing an undeniable role.
*Part I Architectural Assistant results indicate a revised London Living Wage threshold surpassing an increased number of practices in 2024 published results.
With the above in mind, we are still optimistic about the power of cooperation, and continue to welcome collaboration from the ARB, RIBA and practices across the profession. This year we contacted a total of 484 practices submitted into our survey so far, with further updates on our endeavours as well as opportunities for them to become involved with the Pay 100. This includes opportunity for practices to advertise the benefits they offer employees alongside survey results, should they wish to do so.
Key modifications to our 2024 survey:
- Practice locations now included in published results.
- Data no longer limited to the top 100.
- Updated Living Wage thresholds.
Over the past couple of years, we have had numerous requests to include practice location alongside survey results. Until now we have been reluctant, as we want to encourage all practices to strive for better pay regardless of where they are based. That said, in the past week we sought feedback from our Instagram community, with 142 accounts voting for including location data, and 1 vote in opposition. As such, we have made the decision to include location in this year’s published results. A result of this inclusion is that many locations outside London fall beneath the top 100 listed practices. Because of this, we have also decided to reveal all practices, not limited to the top 100. This was not an easy decision to make, as we have always sought to celebrate the top paying practices and create an incentive for financial improvement, as opposed to shaming those who fall lower down in each published list.
That said (contradiction inbound), we urge those who fall below Living Wage levels to reconsider the value and living standards of their employees, as required by the RIBA.
We sincerely hope this data will be used as inspiration for progression going forward.
Read more from the Architects’ Journal
View our latest survey results here
Are you an employer? Click here for the Pay 100 employer area
Press Statement: 2023
1st November 2023
As of 1st November 2023, we again release named salary results for 3 core industry roles.
Throughout 2023 we have regularly engaged with the Pay 100 Instagram community, with discussion ranging from working conditions and pay, through to wellbeing and architectural education. We have been in contact with groups such as the Future Architects Front and Section of Architectural Workers, without whom the success of our newfound transparency would not have been possible.
This year we introduced ourselves to the 350 practices submitted into our 2022 survey. We provided an update on opportunities for them to become involved with the Pay 100, such as accreditation, or advertising employee benefits alongside their 2023 survey listing. Our aspiration going forward is heightened engagement with practices, to build on what we have begun as an industry striving for improved financial conditions amongst an ever-challenging economy.
Since our initial publishing, we have received significant feedback from employees actively referencing our survey results when applying for new roles or negotiating with their existing practice. We have also had direct feedback from recruiters, as well as tutors at UK architecture schools, who have used our survey for the purpose of assisting students in employment preparation.
Key improvements to our 2023 survey include:
- An enhanced ranking system, changing the way in which practices are listed. Practices are now grouped together and assigned the same ranking number per salary level, as opposed to alphabetically.
- An opportunity for practices to advertise the benefits they offer employees alongside their survey listing.
- Reported unpaid overtime.
- Minimum requirement Living Wage thresholds for RIBA Chartered Practices, as outlined by the RIBA, defined by the Living Wage Foundation.
We thank all those who have supported us and contributed towards improving the profession.
Read more from Dezeen
Read more from the Architects’ Journal
View our latest survey results here
Are you an employer? Click here for the Pay 100 employer area
Press Statement: 2022
1st November 2022
As of 1st November 2022, we, the Pay 100: UK Architecture Salary Advocate release named salary results for the following 3 roles:
- Part I Architectural Assistant with less than 3 years of experience,
- Part II Architectural Assistant with less than 3 years of experience,
- Architect/ Architectural Designer with less than 5 years of experience.
We see this as a pivotal moment, marking an active move towards financial improvement across the profession. We truly hope that the Pay 100 results incentivise and inspire healthy competition for employers and employees alike.
Summary
After receiving a significant number of entries, from Part I Architectural Assistant to Director level, we are thankful for all those who have taken part in this progressive act of change.
As expected, our first snapshot illuminates that there is indeed salary disparity between practices. We see this as a positive opportunity for those appearing further down in the Pay 100 rankings, to actively appeal to potential employees whilst working towards becoming an Accredited Pay 100 Employer, and enjoying the long-term benefits of cultivating truly valued employees.
Aspirations
The Pay 100 aspire to revolutionise the UK architectural industry in a number of ways, inclusive of the following:
- Encouraging – financial improvement across the entire profession.
- Incentivising – practices to compete financially to attract the best talent.
- Reducing – fee-undercutting between practices, so those who truly value their employees are more likely to win work, and in turn become more profitable.
- Encouraging – wages to begin to keep up with inflation.
- Combatting – pay inequality.
- Providing – a tool for recruitment professionals that actually appeals to potential employees, therefore allowing said potential employees to specifically target applications towards the most financially desirable prospective employers.
- Encouraging – healthy role promotion within practices, so those who have invested significant time in their role are compared less against others under the same title.
- Helping – employers improve the success of their business via more satisfied employees and increased staff retention.
Going forward, we welcome applications from further sponsors who believe in our cause. We also welcome support from professional bodies such as the ARB and RIBA, as we are happy to collaborate with all those that desire to work towards a positive common goal.
With further support, our team may be able to take further steps towards financially uplifting the profession, using the power of data to set active targets and engage with all those involved via healthy discourse.
View our latest survey results here
Are you an employer? Click here for the Pay 100 employer area