Construction · Scotland
Quantity Surveyor salary in Edinburgh, 2026
Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025, adjusted for the Scotland regional pay differential. Updated 2026-04-21. Methodology.
Quantity Surveyor salary by experience in Edinburgh
That headline median masks a wide spread once you split Edinburgh quantity surveyors by years of experience. The four bands below reflect what each tier typically commands in Edinburgh — local figures, not UK averages, with each step usually triggered by a level change rather than an annual increment.
| Experience level | Salary range | Median |
|---|---|---|
| Entry (0-2 yrs) | £33,048 – £42,228 | £37,638 |
| Mid (3-5 yrs) | £47,736 – £61,776 | £54,756 |
| Senior (6-10 yrs) | £82,620 – £105,570 | £94,095 |
| Lead (10+ yrs) | £109,013 – £149,175 | £129,094 |
Gross figures only tell half the story — what actually lands in your bank account depends on tax, NI, student loan and pension. Run your own number below.
Take-home pay calculator · 2024/25
Quantity Surveyor, Edinburgh
£41,502/yr · £798/wk · effective rate 26.1%
| Gross salary | £56,160 |
| Pension (5%) | −£2,808 |
| Income tax | −£8,773 |
| National Insurance | −£3,078 |
| Net take-home | £41,502 |
Earn more as a Quantity Surveyor
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Pay ranges and take-home are the planning numbers; what you can actually move into right now is a different question. Live quantity surveyor vacancies in Edinburgh are below.
Open vacancies · via Reed
6 live Quantity Surveyor jobs in Edinburgh
Live listings refresh daily. View the full set on Reed.
See all Quantity Surveyor jobs in Edinburgh →It's also worth seeing how Edinburgh stacks up — both against the UK average and against other cities quantity surveyors commonly relocate between.
Quantity Surveyor pay: Edinburgh versus UK average
Quantity Surveyor pay across other UK cities
Day rate vs PAYE: what Quantity Surveyor contractors earn in Edinburgh
Construction pay branches sharply between PAYE employment and contracting — the right comparison depends on which route you're on.
Quantity Surveyors in Edinburgh face a real choice between PAYE employment and contracting. Employed roles cluster around the £56,160 median with pension, holiday and sick pay built in. Day-rate contractors on the same site can earn the equivalent of £84,456+ annualised — but only when they're billing. Realistic billable days after holidays, gaps between contracts and admin land at roughly 200 a year, which is the maths most contractors get wrong in their first year.
The high earners in Edinburgh are usually contractors with a chartered status (RICS, NEC contracts), a deep speciality (NEC4 contracts, complex retrofit, major-project commercial), and a network that means they're never on the bench long. Tier-1 contractors and infrastructure programmes (RBS) set the upper end of day rates; mid-tier developers and local-authority frameworks set the floor.
Quantity Surveyor salaries in cities near Edinburgh
If Edinburgh doesn't quite work for the role — commute, rent, partner's job — the same role in nearby cities tells you what the trade-off looks like in £ terms. The four comparisons below show how pay shifts within the same region — multipliers come from the ONS regional median pay differential, so the figures already account for the regional gap.
Other construction jobs in Edinburgh
Adjacent construction roles often pay differently to quantity surveyor for similar skill profiles, which is useful when you're choosing what to specialise in next. Salaries for closely related construction roles in Edinburgh are below — useful when comparing routes into or out of the Quantity Surveyor track.
Roles with overlapping skills
Common questions about quantity surveyor pay in Edinburgh, answered with the underlying figures from the same dataset used above.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average Quantity Surveyor salary in Edinburgh?
£56,160 per year is the median Quantity Surveyor salary in Edinburgh, drawn from ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings data adjusted for the regional pay differential. Lower quartile sits at £43,200; upper quartile at £73,440.
How much does a Quantity Surveyor earn per month in Edinburgh?
About £4,680 gross, which works out at roughly £3,370 take-home after income tax and National Insurance for the 2024/25 tax year (assuming no student loan and a 5% pension contribution). Use the calculator above for a number that matches your own circumstances.
What is the starting salary for a Quantity Surveyor in Edinburgh?
Entry-level Quantity Surveyors in Edinburgh typically start between £33,048 and £42,228. Pay then steps up at the 3-year and 6-year marks — mid-level practitioners earn £47,736–£61,776, with senior roles reaching £82,620–£105,570.
Is Edinburgh a good place to work as a Quantity Surveyor?
Yes — strong on both pay and labour-market tightness. Edinburgh pays 8% above the UK Quantity Surveyor median, with major local employers including RBS, Standard Life Aberdeen, Lloyds. Cost of living runs at 92 on the UK-100 index, so £56,160 here has the real purchasing power of £61,043 at the national average. Unemployment of 3.8% gives a useful read on how tight the local labour market is — under 4% generally favours candidates on pay.
What skills do Quantity Surveyors need to earn more?
Reaching the upper-quartile £73,440 band tends to come down to depth in RICS, NEC contracts, JCT contracts, plus a track record that lets you credibly take on senior or lead-level scope. Career outlook for the role is medium, so the speciality areas worth doubling down on are Cost planning and Valuation.
Salary base figures: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (2025), with regional adjustment from ONS regional median gross pay tables. Live job counts (where shown): Reed Jobseeker API, refreshed daily. Take-home calculations apply 2024/25 UK tax-year thresholds for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.