Clinical Research Associate salary in the United Kingdom
£63,543
average advertised per year · most adverts fall between £41,343 and £72,290
From 70 live clinical research associate listings with advertised pay · newest 16 Oct 2026
What clinical research associates are offered
Every advertised salary in the sample, from lowest to highest.
- Lower quartile
- £41,343
- a quarter pay less
- Median
- £52,951
- the typical advert
- Upper quartile
- £72,290
- a quarter pay more
Clinical Research Associate salary by seniority
Median advertised pay at each level, with the middle half of adverts beside it. The step between levels is usually the number worth negotiating over.
How to read a clinical research associate salary range
The middle half of clinical research associate adverts sits between £41,343 and £72,290 — the top of that band is 1.7× the bottom. Where you land inside it is decided less by the job title than by three things: the level the role is pitched at, the employer's size and the city. On this board Liverpool pays most for the role at £132,067 on average.
An advert quoting a wide range is usually a level range in disguise: the bottom is what they would pay someone they have to train, the top is what they would pay someone who can run the work unsupervised. Ask which end the role is really budgeted at before you anchor on the top figure.
The figures on this page are advertised pay, which runs a little ahead of what people in post earn. If an offer sits below the median here for the level, that is a fair thing to raise; if it sits above the 75th percentile, it is a good offer for this market.
Highest paying cities for clinical research associates
Cities with a single listing are shown but move easily — read them with the count beside them.
Highest paying employers for clinical research associates
Live clinical research associate roles
Primary Care Network - Fixed Term Senior Clinical Pharmacist
Greenwich HealthClinical Research AssociateJobsbyAdzunaLondonContract£50,451–£58,478 a yearNewStrategic Delivery Manager (NIHR CRDC:Bradford & West Yorkshire)
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustClinical Research AssociateJobsbyAdzunaBradfordPermanent£66,582–£77,368 a yearNewClinical Research Fellow with interest in rare Ehlers Danlos syndromes
London North West University Healthcare NHS TrustClinical Research AssociateviaNHS JobsHarrowContract£45715.00 to £69976.00NewClinical Research Fellow – Haemastasis
University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation TrustClinical Research AssociateviaNHS JobsLondonContract£76582.00NewClinical Research Operations Coordinator
Barts Health NHS TrustClinical Research AssociateviaNHS JobsLondonContract£47951.00 to £56863.00NewClinical Data & Systems Lead
HaysClinical Research AssociateJobsbyAdzunaCambridgeContract£120,000 a yearNewClinical Research Associate salary: common questions
- How much does a clinical research associate earn in the United Kingdom?
- The median advertised clinical research associate salary is £52,951 a year, from 70 live listings on BOQQS. Most adverts fall between £41,343 and £72,290. These are salaries employers are offering, which runs a little ahead of what people are actually paid.
- What is the salary range for a clinical research associate?
- Advertised pay in the current sample runs from £26,686 to £175,500. The middle half sits between £41,343 and £72,290 — the ends are real adverts, but they are not typical ones.
- Which cities pay clinical research associates the most?
- Liverpool leads at £132,067 on average, against £63,543 across the whole sample. Reading follows at £117,000.
- What is a clinical research associate salary per hour?
- About £32.59 an hour, or £244.39 a day, converting the annual figure at 37.5 hours a week and 260 working days.
- Which employers pay clinical research associates the most?
- From current listings, Hays Specialist Recruitment Limited advertises the highest at £175,500 on average. This reflects what is advertised now, not a long-run ranking.
Similar roles
Figures are medians and averages of salaries advertised on BOQQS, not a survey of what people are paid — advertised pay leads actual pay. Day and hourly rates are annualised at 260 working days and 37.5 hours a week. Nothing below £28,000 a year is carried on this board, so these figures describe the specialist market rather than all jobs in the UK. How the figures are worked out