We all know marketers are being asked to do more with less, taking on bigger remits without the necessary uplift in pay. In this context, salaries take on even greater significance as a benchmark for how marketing is valued in 2025.
Are you being paid fairly compared to your peers? What salary can you expect to achieve as you climb the career ladder? Which sectors are keeping pace and which are falling behind?
Marketing Week’s 2025 Career & Salary Survey looks to answer all these questions, with data revealing the average salary across multiple sectors and the mean salary split by level of seniority. We also share the best and worst paying sectors for male versus female marketers.
Marketing Week’s pay by sector and seniority data is calculated from full-time (35+ hours a week) respondents providing their basic annual salary, excluding any additional benefits.
Average marketing salary by seniority
Marketers starting out in their career are being paid an average salary of £36,106 as executives, while senior executives are paid an average salary of £42,126.
Moving up the career ladder, the average salary for junior managers is £47,840. This rises to £57,633 for marketing managers and then jumps to £72,434 for senior managers.
At the most senior level, CMOs, marketing directors and vice-presidents are currently being paid an average salary of £117,623.
Average marketing salary by sector
Analysing salaries by sector, financial services is the best paying industry for marketers, with an average salary of £82,408. FMCG is close behind with an average salary of £81,499, followed by health and pharmaceuticals at £81,135.
On average, the education sector offers the lowest marketing wage at £56,789. This is followed by charity/not-for-profit (£59,842) and construction and property (£60,987).
We were unable to include salaries for marketers working in consumer electronics, fashion, beauty, gaming and gambling, public sector, sport, utilities and industry/trade bodies as the samples were not statistically significant.
Top three best paid sectors for male marketers
Male marketers working in financial services are paid the highest, with an average salary of £92,624, followed by those working in FMCG (£85,995) and technology and software (£85,102).
Top three best paid sectors for female marketers
Health and pharmaceuticals is the best paid sector for female marketers at £80,318. The next highest paid category for women is FMCG (£77,569), followed by financial services (£74,236).
Top three worst paid sectors for male marketers
The 2025 figures show male marketers working in agencies/consultancies receive the lowest average salary at £73,443. Men working in professional services earn slightly more at £76,113, with those working in health and pharmaceuticals taking home an average pay packet of £82,000.
Top three worst paid sectors for female marketers
Construction and property is the worst paying category for female marketers, who bring home an average salary of £50,778. This is followed by education (£53,572) and charity/not-for-profit (£56,320).
Over the coming weeks, Marketing Week will be publishing a series of exclusive news and features based on the findings of the 2025 Career & Salary Survey, including analysis of pay disparities, the reality of recruitment and marketing skills gaps.
