Agenda for Change · Radiography · 2026/27
NHS radiographer salary
A qualified radiographer starts at band 5, whether the post is diagnostic imaging or radiotherapy: the national profiles keep the two apart and band them the same. In England 2026/27 that band pays £32,073 to £39,043, and the radiography ladder runs on to £91,609 at consultant level.
- Radiographer, band 5 £32,073 First step, rising to £39,043 — England 2026/27
- Specialist, band 6 £39,959 Radiographer Specialist (Diagnostic, Therapeutic), first step
- Top of the ladder £91,609 Radiographer Consultant (Therapy), top of band 8c
Every radiography profile and its band
Job evaluation matches each post to one of these profiles, and the profile fixes the band. The family starts at band 3, with the Clinical Support Worker, Higher Level (Radiography), and a post that matches none of them is evaluated locally.
| Published job title | Band | Salary in England | Job evaluation score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Clinical Support Worker, Higher Level (Radiography) | 3 | £25,760 – £27,476 | 216–244 |
| Assistant Practitioner (Radiography) | 4 | £28,392 – £31,157 | 275–303 |
| Radiographer (Therapeutic) | 5 | £32,073 – £39,043 | 334–364 |
| Radiographer (Diagnostic) | 5 | £32,073 – £39,043 | 327–364 |
| Radiographer Specialist (Diagnostic, Therapeutic) | 6 | £39,959 – £48,117 | 400–456 |
| Radiographer Advanced | 7 | £49,387 – £56,515 | 467–533 |
| Radiographer Specialist (Reporting Sonographer) | 7 | £49,387 – £56,515 | 467–485 |
| Radiographer Team Manager | 7 | £49,387 – £56,515 | 470–510 |
| Radiographer Principal | 8a | £57,528 – £64,750 | 541–556 |
| Radiographer Consultant (Therapy) | 8a to 8c | £57,528 – £91,609 | 577–641 |
| Radiographer Consultant (Diagnostic) | 8b to 8c | £66,582 – £91,609 | 587–646 |
England 2026/27, basic pay. A profile published against more than one band runs from the first step of the lowest to the top step of the highest.
Diagnostic or therapeutic: one band, two profiles
A diagnostic radiographer takes the images; a therapeutic radiographer plans and gives radiotherapy. The profiles say so in their first lines — the diagnostic post “sets imaging parameters”, the therapeutic one “makes pre-treatment calculations and checks”. Both are band 5 and pay the same £32,073 to £39,043, though the scores behind them differ: 327–364 for diagnostic and 334–364 for therapeutic.
A newly qualified radiographer on rotation stays at band 5
The band 6 specialist profile describes an experienced practitioner who rotates between specialist areas, and then rules out the obvious misreading in its own text: it “does not apply to Radiographer undertaking immediate post-registration rotations”. So rotating through departments in the first posts after qualifying is band 5 work. The specialist band starts at £39,959, £7,886 above the first band 5 step.
Sonographers
The one national profile for ultrasound here is a radiography profile: Radiographer Specialist (Reporting Sonographer), band 7, which assesses and reports on its own workload of scans. It pays £49,387 to £56,515 in England. A sonography post matched to a profile in another family is not covered here.
Consultant radiographers span bands
The two consultant profiles are each published against a range of bands rather than one, and not the same range: Radiographer Consultant (Therapy) across bands 8a to 8c (£57,528 to £91,609) and Radiographer Consultant (Diagnostic) across bands 8b to 8c (£66,582 to £91,609). Where a consultant post sits inside its range is decided when that post is evaluated.
Questions people ask
What is a band 6 radiographer’s salary?
£39,959 to £48,117 in England 2026/27, on the Radiographer Specialist (Diagnostic, Therapeutic) profile. Every band 6 step.
How much does a newly qualified radiographer earn?
£32,073 on the first step of band 5, diagnostic or therapeutic. Shifts outside normal hours and any on-call are paid on top.
What is a radiographer’s pay rate, or wage, in the UK?
In the NHS the band sets it, as a yearly salary, and each of the four nations publishes its own scale; the figures on this page are England’s. An hourly figure is printed only in the pay circulars for Scotland. For England, Wales and Northern Ireland the band pages work one out from the salary and the week, and mark it as derived. Radiographers employed by private imaging providers are paid on their employer’s own terms. The other nations’ scales: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland.
What the salary leaves out
Imaging and radiotherapy run evenings, weekends and emergency cover. In England the national handbook sets no on-call rate — it has been a local agreement since 2011 — so your trust’s figure is the only one, and none is shown here. Unsocial hours by nation, overtime, the London supplement, and take-home pay after tax and pension. The titles are quoted from National profiles for diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles, NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group (published by NHS Employers); see the methodology and the source register.
Sources for the radiography figures 2 documents · last checked Verified
- National profiles for diagnostic and therapeutic radiographers — NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group national job profiles NHS Staff Council Job Evaluation Group (published by NHS Employers) · Effective · checked · independently checked Verified
- NHS Terms and Conditions 2026 (Agenda for Change) — pay bands and pay points from 1 April 2026, England NHS Employers ·2026-27 · Effective · checked · independently checked Also relied on: NHS Terms and Conditions of Service Handbook, version 21 — Section 2 (England), Table 2: unsocial hours payments Pay scales for 2026/27 — High Cost Area Supplement rates, NHS Employers Pay scales for 2026/27 — NHS Employers' HTML publication of the same pay table, used as the corroborating second document Verified