In September 2025, the top one percent of earners in the United Kingdom received an average pay of 16,212 British pounds per month, compared with the bottom ten percent of earners who earned around 855 pounds a month.

In 2025, the average annual full-time earnings for the top ten percent of earners in the United Kingdom was more than 76,900 British pounds, compared with 23,990 for the bottom ten percent of earners. As of this year, the average annual earnings for all full-time employees was over 39,000 pounds, up from 37,400 pounds in the previous year. Strong wage growth continues in 2025 As of February 2025, wages in the UK were growing by approximately 5.9 percent compared with the previous year, with this falling to 5.6 percent if bonus pay is included. When adjusted for inflation, regular pay without bonuses grew by 2.1 percent, with overall pay including bonus pay rising by 1.9 percent. While UK wages have now outpaced inflation for almost two years, there was a long period between 2021 and 2023 when high inflation in the UK was rising faster than wages, one of the leading reasons behind a severe cost of living crisis at the time. UK's gender pay gap falls in 2024 For several years, the difference between average hourly earnings for men and women has been falling, with the UK's gender pay gap dropping to 13.1 percent in 2024, down from 27.5 percent in 1997. When examined by specific industry sectors, however, the discrepancy between male and female earnings can be much starker. In the financial services sector, for example, the gender pay gap was almost 30 percent, with professional, scientific and technical professions also having a relatively high gender pay gap rate of 20 percent.

In 2024/25 the value of tax receipts for the United Kingdom amounted to approximately 840 billion British pounds. Tax receipts form the bulk of UK government income, based on various direct and indirect taxes. Although tax income has gradually increased throughout most of this period, there is a noticeable dip in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tax revenue sources Of the revenue generated by taxation in 2024/25, over 301 billion of this came from Income Tax receipts, which was the main source of direct tax income for the government. After income tax, the next most substantial direct tax were contributions from National Insurance, which amounted to just over 172.5 billion pounds of tax revenue. The UK's main goods and services tax; Value-added Tax (VAT) amounted to 170.6 billion pounds, while Corporation Tax receipts raised 91.6 billion pounds. Although other smaller direct and indirect taxes produce notable income, these four sources were by far the main sources of income in the previous financial year. UK government finances While taxes and other sources of income raised more than 1.13 trillion pounds in 2024/25, the UK government expenditure was around 1.28 trillion pounds. This gap between revenue and expenditure was financed via government borrowing, which amounted to almost 152 billion pounds. As the UK government has been spending more than it earns for several years, this has resulted in a significant government debt of 2.8 trillion pounds building up, the equivalent of just under 96 percent of GDP in 2024/25.

For the 2025/26 financial year, the main National Insurance contribution rate paid by employees from their earnings in the United Kingdom is eight percent, down from the previous rate of ten percent in 2023/24. National Insurance contributions are one of the main revenue sources of the UK government, amounting to approximately 172 billion pounds in 2023/24.

FOCUSONLONDON2010:INCOMEANDSPENDINGATHOME

Household income in London far exceeds that of any other region in the UK. At £900 per week, London’s gross weekly household income is 15 per cent higher than the next highest region. Despite this, the costs to each household are also higher in the capital. Londoners pay a greater amount of their income in tax and national insurance than the UK average as well as footing a higher bill for housing and everyday necessities. All of which leaves London households less well off than the headline figures suggest.

This chapter, authored by Richard Walker in the GLA Intelligence Unit, begins with an analysis of income at both individual and household level, before discussing the distribution and sources of income. This is followed by a look at wealth and borrowing and finally, focuses on expenditure including an insight to the cost of housing in London, compared with other regions in the UK.

See other reports from this Focus on London series.

PRESENTATION:

This interactive presentation finds the answer to the question, who really is better off, an average London or UK household? This analysis takes into account available data from all types of income and expenditure. Click on the link to access.

PREZI

FACTS:

Some interesting facts from the data…

• Five boroughs with the highest median gross weekly pay per person in 2009:
• 1. Kensington & Chelsea - £809
• 2. City of London - £767
• 3. Westminster - £675
• 4. Wandsworth - £636
• 5. Richmond - £623
• ...
• 32. Brent - £439
• 33. Newham - £422
• Five boroughs with the highest median weekly rent for a 2 bedroom property in October 2010:
• 1. Kensington & Chelsea - £550
• 2. Westminster - £500
• 3. City of London - £450
• 4. Camden - £375
• 5. Islington - £360
• ...
• 32. Havering - £183
• 33. Bexley - £173
• Five boroughs with the highest percentage of households that own their home outright in 2009:
• 1. Bexley – 38 per cent
• 2. Havering – 36 per cent
• 3. Richmond – 32 per cent
• 4. Bromley – 31 per cent
• 5. Barnet – 28 per cent
• ...
• 31. Tower Hamlets – 9 per cent
• 32. Southwark – 9 per cent

In July 2025, the BBC released annual information regarding employees’ salaries. Sports presenter Gary Lineker was the highest paid BBC employee, with an approximate income of 1.35 million British pounds. This was followed by radio presenter Zoe Ball, with her pay at roughly half a billion British pounds. Ken Bruce – the power of loyal fans In mid-2023, after 30 years of employment at BBC, Ken Bruce, one of the highest-earning presenters of the company, left to work at a rival radio station. Bruce is known for his mellow presenting style and a trademarked Popmaster music quiz. He took both to his new employer. Even though BBC Radio 2 remains the leading radio station in the UK by audience numbers, Bruce’s departure meant a loss of a million listeners for the BBC between the first and second quarters of 2023. It is reported that these fans followed Bruce to his new mid-morning show on Greatest Hits Radio. In general, the BBC runs national UK radio stations, as well as multiple regional and local radio services. The share of all BBC radio stations in the total listening time in the UK is just over 50 percent. BBC Radio 4 has always taken up the largest share of the corporation’s spending on radio programming, while Radio 5 live and Radio 2 follow suit. BBC – sources of income The majority of BBC’s income comes from the license fee. It is a tax which must be paid by each household in the UK in order to receive live television programming, stream online TV via the internet, or watch BBC programs on iPlayer. In 2023 the cost of the fee was 159 British pounds. More than 65 percent of the company’s income is attributed to this funding. The remainder of BBC income and revenue consists of commercial (mainly BBC Worldwide) income and Grant-in-Aid for World Service income. In total, BBC’s revenue from TV business and offerings surpassed 20 billion British pounds in 2022.

In 2025/26, the budgeted expenditure of the United Kingdom government is expected to be reach 1,335 billion British pounds, with the highest spending function being the 379 billion pounds expected to be spent on social protection, which includes pensions and other welfare benefits. Government spending on health was expected to be 277 billion pounds and was the second-highest spending function in this fiscal year, while education was the third-highest spending category at 146 billion pounds. UK government debt approaching 100 percent of GDP At the end of the 2024/25 financial year, the UK's government debt amounted to approximately 2.8 trillion British pounds, around 96 percent of GDP that year. This is due to the UK having to borrow money to cover its spending commitments, especially at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when this deficit amounted to 314.6 billion pounds. Without significant cuts to spending or tax rises, the current government is aiming to reduce this debt by creating a stronger, more productive economy. Though this is how Britain's post WW2 debt was reduced, the country faces far more structural problems to growth than it did in the mid 20th century. Income Tax the UK's main revenue source Income Tax is expected to raise approximately 329 billion British pounds in the 2025/26 financial year, and be the largest revenue source for the government that year. Value Added Tax (VAT) receipts are expected to raise 214 billion pounds, with National Insurance contributions reaching 199 billion pounds. Although National Insurance rates for employees has actually fallen recently, the rate which employers pay was one of the main tax rises announced in the Autumn 2024 budget, rising from 13.8 percent to 15 percent. Though this avoided raising tax for workers directly, many UK businesses were critical of the move, with taxation seen as the main issue facing them at the start of 2025.