Blog>Trade>Growing your trade business>How much does a building surveyor earn?
Last updated: 3 April 2024
How much does a building surveyor earn?
When it comes to construction and property valuation, surveyors are very important. As a result, the typical building surveyor's salary can be substantial. Read our guide to learn how much a building surveyor's salary in the UK can be.
How much do building surveyors earn?
Present at both construction sites and to assist in the assessment of properties, building surveying plays an important role. Without them, it would be much harder to plan and manage projects in the building industry.
Naturally, given their necessity in this area, building surveyor work is always available. This means it’s also very easy to make a profitable career if you choose to become a building surveyor.
But what exactly is the average building surveyor's salary?
To give you an idea, we’ve put together this handy salary table below. It lays out exactly what you could be earning at each stage of your surveyor career. Giving you a clear insight into the potential building surveyor salary you could earn:
| Level | Per hour | Per day | Per year | Business Costs* | Approximate Take Home Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apprentice | £14 | £112 | £24,584 | 0 | £20,211 |
| Newly Qualified | £17 | £136 | £29,852 | 0 | £23,793 |
| Employed | £24 | £192 | £49,920 | 0 | £37,928 |
| Sole Trader | £45 | £360 | £66,377 | £8,297 | £46,244 |
| Business Owner (ltd company) | £49 | £392 | £72,277 | £12,648 | £46,792 |
| *includes estimated costs for business expenses such as vehicle, tools, insurance, fuel etc | |||||
| Last updated: May 2024 Our costs are ballpark averages - get a local tradesperson to quote now | |||||
What is the average building surveyor salary in the UK?
As our table shows, the typical building surveyor salary in the UK is varied and considerable. You earn plenty as a qualified surveyor, and this can increase to greater heights if you run your own business.
However, when looking at the average salary earned by a building surveyor, you can look to earn around £49,920 per year. This is based on the assumption that you are an experienced building surveyor.
Alternatively, if you’re an apprentice building surveyor, you’re likely to earn closer to £24,584 per year. However, this is not a bad thing as you’ll be earning as you learn.
Finally, if you choose to run your own business, you could earn as much as £66,377 per year. This is as a sole trade. As the owner of a limited company, this has the potential to increase to £72,277.
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What is the average building surveyor salary per month?
While knowing how much you can earn per year is very useful, so too is knowing your monthly earnings. Below is the typical building surveyor salary you can expect to earn per month, based on your experience:
Apprentice surveyor – 2426.48per month
Newly qualified surveyor – 2946.44per month
Employed surveyor – 4159.68per month
Sole trading surveyor – 7799.4per month
Limited company surveyor – 8492.68per month
What is the average building surveyor salary per day?
When it comes to salary rates, having an idea of your day rate can be handy when estimating project costs. Here are the average day rates for those on a building surveyor salary:
Apprentice surveyor – £112per day
Newly qualified surveyor – £136per day
Employed surveyor – £192per day
Sole trading surveyor – £360per day
Limited company surveyor – £392per day
On top of this, you might also want to be aware of your hourly rate as well. This may be needed if you want to employ staff on hourly rates of pay.
Take a look at our data below for the typical building surveyors’ hourly salary:
Apprentice surveyor – £14per hour
Newly qualified surveyor – £17per hour
Employed surveyor – £24per hour
Sole trading surveyor – £45per hour
Limited company surveyor – £49per hour
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How to earn more money as a building surveyor
Regardless of if you’re a new building surveyor or one with experience, you likely want to increase your salary. This can be done in a variety of ways, depending on what stage of your career you’re currently at.
For example**, as a new surveyor**, the best way to increase your salary will be with more experience and qualifications. This in turn will let you take on more complex jobs and acquire promotions.
Alternatively, if you have plenty of experience in the surveying industry, you could consider starting your own building survey business.
However, if you do choose to do this, then you need to be sure the jobs you do are profitable. To help with this, here are our top tips to consider when running your own business to reduce costs:
Always make sure you charge enough to cover your outgoings. This includes the cost of tools, materials, insurance, marketing, wages, fuel, etc
Try to focus on jobs that make you the most money while requiring you to spend the least money to complete
Aim to limit how far you need to travel between jobs to cut down on fuel costs
Minimise your outgoings by avoiding taking out excessive loans and debts
Get your business name out there through marketing to attract more customers
Provide a good customer experience on every job to boost your reputation and get repeat business
Join a trade directory, like Checkatrade, to get access to a wider customer base
Earn more as a building surveyor with Checkatrade
With that last point covered, you should have a good idea of how much a building surveyor can earn. But if you want help boosting your salary potential, then you should consider signing up with Checkatrade.
All our members get access to great discounts and benefits to help save on costs in all business areas. Not only that, but our forum is filled with countless experienced tradespeople, ready to share their knowledge with you.
Get in touch with the Checkatrade process today to learn more about our joining process. And don’t forget that we have a trade blog filled with similar articles to this one. Such as how to become a building surveyor.
Grow your buildings surveying business today
Join Checkatrade to get access to the #1 trade directory in the UK
Building surveyor salary FAQs
Is building surveying profitable?
Absolutely. As you can see from the data in our table, becoming a building surveyor is incredibly profitable. Even after take-home pay.
Of course, your actual earnings will be less than your total salary due to various factors. These include the size of your business, the work you do, and the profitability of your jobs.
Only once you consider these and deduct your outgoings will you see how profitable your business is.
To put this in perspective, after outgoings, sole traders tend to make about £66,377per year. For limited companies, this is closer to £72,277.
