Age and location widen the income gap as salaries and earnings for architects in the UK flatline after a bumper year, reports Aziz Mirza of the Fees Bureau
After last year’s dramatic 15 per cent rise, the headline figure for architects’ earnings has plateaued over the past 12 months. An increase that was then six per cent ahead of inflation has this year become one that is now two per cent below. But the stability of the headline figure disguises more subtle dynamics for various groups of architects.
The ‘average’ architect in the UK earns £50,000 annually. Partners and directors earn more, as do architects employed in the public sector and in-house by the private sector. Salaried architects working in private practice report an average salary that is lower than for all architects, while the group with the lowest average earnings this year is sole principals.
Salaried/principals adjustment
More architects are employed in private practice as salaried staff than elsewhere. Their average earnings this year are £45,000. Pay varies from this average by relatively little, the lower quartile figure is £40,000 while the upper quartile is £55,000.
Partners and directors in private practices earn significantly more, with an average salary of £67,000 – nearly 50 per cent higher than their salaried staff. The pay range for these practice owners is also broader, indicating greater variability in earnings.
Sole principals, however, report the lowest average earnings at £42,500, with the lower quartile earning £30,000 or less. Average pay for public architects tends to be higher than that for all architects, with those working in local authorities averaging £53,000 and those in central government earning nearly £61,000.
The differential between salaried architects in private practice and principals was becoming squeezed. During the pandemic, salaried architects saw a rise in earnings while principals’ pay dipped. This year, however, the pattern has reversed: principals’ earnings rose while salaried architects experienced a slight decline. This has allowed the differential to widen substantially. Interestingly, while the average pay for salaried architects in private practice dropped by 2 per cent, the lower and upper quartiles both saw increases. Sole principals, after a drop last year, enjoyed a 6 per cent rise, realigning their earnings to pre-pandemic levels.
Salaries and earnings' regional divides
A stark regional divide has emerged in architects’ earnings. Average earnings for architects in London and the south east have increased while, for architects elsewhere, average earnings are lower. Significant among these are private practice salaried architects. They report an average rise of 7 per cent in London and an even larger rise in the south east. This compares with a 4 per cent fall in the north and an 8 per cent decline in the Midlands/East Anglia.
Average earnings for architects in London are now 19 per cent higher than the UK average, even higher than last year’s 16 per cent. By contrast, average earnings in the north and Scotland are more than 10 per cent lower than the UK average.
Generation gap in earnings
Age is another significant factor. Older architects, particularly those aged 50-54 and 60-64, saw their earnings grow by 12 per cent, whereas most age groups under 45 faced stagnation or decline. This trend prompted an in-depth analysis of earnings over architects’ careers.
A recent report by the Resolution Foundation, a prominent left-leaning think tank, sheds light on the widening gap between generations in the UK. The report, An Intergenerational Audit for the UK, delves into various issues affecting different generations, including home ownership, job security and earnings.
The study tracks employment and earnings across various age cohorts, revealing that while younger generations have experienced higher employment levels, this has come at a cost. The data shows that those born before the 1980s generally earned more than previous generations at the same age. In contrast, millennials – those born between 1981 and 2000 – are poised to be the first generation to fare worse economically than their parents.
Prompted by these findings, we examined our own RIBA/The Fees Bureau Employment & Earnings Survey data to see how similar cohorts of architects have fared. The profession’s long-standing survey provides a rich historical dataset, enabling us to conduct a thorough analysis over past years.
At first glance, the results show nothing unexpected: average pay rises with age. Average earnings rise in a broadly consistent fashion up to the age of 50, when they start to plateau and then dip after about 60. At age 50-54 architects are earning, on average, about one and a half times the salary of a newly qualified architect in their mid to late 20s.
But compare different cohorts and the picture changes. Architects now in their late 50s and 60s had higher starting pay than younger cohorts of architects. Architects now in their 40s and early 50s began their careers on lower starting salaries than the previous generation but caught up within three years as their average pay quickly accelerated. Average pay remained ahead of the older generation for the next 10 years or so, but then flatlined, only matching the previous generation once they had reached 50.
Principals’ earnings rose while salaried architects experienced a slight decline. This has allowed the differential to widen substantially
Blow to youth felt in income over time
But for younger architects, the pattern is different. Architects now aged under 40 started on average earnings that were about the same as the 40-54 age cohort but lower than the 55+ cohort. Unlike the 40-54 age cohort, their average earnings did not accelerate but remained flat for the next five years. From about age 30 onwards, average earnings for architects currently aged under 40 have remained below – and often significantly below – that reported by the older cohorts.
The results echo the Resolution Foundation’s findings: average pay for younger architects is below the level received at the same age by their older colleagues. That is not just the case for under-40s; it is also evident when we compare the average pay of architects who are now aged 40 to 54 with that of architects now aged 55 and over. The chart above graphically reveals a stark picture of just how far pay has been eroded over time.
Real value eroded
The changes in architects’ generational rates of pay progression are, in fact, rather worse than what the Resolution Foundation found nationally across the whole workforce. While the foundation reported a stalling in pay progression across the broader workforce, architects’ pay has actually regressed. For example, a 38-year-old architect today earns £48,500, whereas five years ago, an architect of the same age would have earned £50,000 (adjusted for inflation), and 15 years ago, nearly £65,000 (again in today’s prices).
According to the Resolution Foundation, this stagnation in cohort-on-cohort pay progression is also evident in the USA. However, it notes that graduate pay progression in the world’s largest economy has increased – a trend not seen in the UK since the financial crisis. Weak pay growth since 2009 is a pronounced issue in the architectural profession. Furthermore, the influx of new architects in recent years may have contributed to this downward pressure on salaries.
Architects now aged under 40 started on average earnings that were about the same as those of the 40-54 age cohort
More means less
The Resolution Foundation’s findings suggest that while younger generations may experience poorer pay progression, they benefit from better job security and lower unemployment rates. However, confirming this trend within the architectural profession proves challenging due to small sample sizes and reluctance to participate in surveys across different age cohorts.
Despite these challenges, it’s clear that overall unemployment among architects has significantly decreased. In 2024, the unemployment rate for architects stands at less than 1 per cent, a stark contrast to the peak of 8 per cent between 1992 and 1994. Additionally, the total workforce has grown from 22,000 in 1987 to 33,000 today, indicating more job opportunities and potentially enhanced job security.
Benefit provisions, including the universal provision of pensions, have also improved over time. However, pay is the most obvious part of an architect’s remuneration package and, on this measure, the younger generations of architects are falling behind.
Aziz Mirza is a director of the Fees Bureau
The annual RIBA/The Fees Bureau Architects Employment & Earnings Survey is a research survey conducted among UK-based RIBA members. A sample of members was invited by email to complete an online questionnaire from April to July 2024. A full report is available to buy from the Fees Bureau
Read Brian Green's exclusive analysis of how architects' salaries compare to other professionals.