The median annual earnings in the United Kingdom was 39,039 British pounds per year in 2025. Annual earnings varied significantly by region, ranging from 49,692 pounds in London to 34,403 pounds in the North East. Along with London, only South East England and Scotland had earnings above the UK average, at 39,983 pounds and 39,719 pounds respectively. Regional Inequality in the UK Various other indicators highlight the degree of regional inequality in the UK, especially between London and the rest of the country. Productivity in London, as measured by output per hour, was 26.2 percent higher than the UK average. By comparison, every other UK region, except the South East, fell below the UK average for productivity. In gross domestic product per head, London was also an outlier. The average GDP per head in the UK was just over 37,000 pounds in 2023, but for London it was almost 64,000 pounds. Again, the South East's GDP per head was slightly above the UK average, with every other region below it. Within London itself, there is also a great degree of inequality. In 2023, for example, the average earnings in Kensington and Chelsea were 964 pounds per week, compared with 675 pounds in Barking and Dagenham. Wages continue to grow in 2025 In March 2025, weekly wages in the UK were growing by around 5.6 percent, or 1.8 percent when adjusted for inflation. For almost two years, wages have grown faster than inflation after a long period where prices were rising faster than wages between 2021 and 2023. This was due to a sustained period of high inflation in the UK, which peaked in October 2022 at 11.1 percent. Although inflation started to slow the following month, it wasn't until June 2023 that wages started to outpace inflation. By this point, the damage caused by high energy and food inflation had led to the the worst Cost of Living Crisis in the UK for a generation.

The median annual earnings for full-time employees in the United Kingdom was just over 39,000 British pounds in 2025, compared with 37,400 pounds in the previous year. At the start of the provided time period, in 1999, the average full-time salary in the UK was 17,800 pounds per year, with median earnings exceeding 20,000 pounds per year in 2002, and 30,000 by 2019. Wages continue to grow faster than inflation in 2025 Between November 2021 and July 2023 inflation was higher than wage growth in the UK, with wages still outpacing inflation as of March 2025. At the peak of the recent wave of high inflation in October 2022, the CPI inflation rate reached a 41-year-high of 11.1 percent, wages were growing much slower at 6.1 percent. Since that peak, inflation remained persistently high for several months, only dropping below double figures in April 2023, when inflation was 8.7 percent, down from 10.1 percent in the previous month. For 2023 as a whole, the average annual rate of inflation was 7.3 percent but fell to 2.5 percent in 2024, but is forecast to increase to 3.2 percent in 2025. Highest and lowest-paid occupations As of 2023, the highest-paid occupation in the UK was that of Chief Executives and Senior Officials, who had an average weekly pay of approximately, 1,576 pounds. By contrast, the lowest-paid occupation that year was that of retail cashiers, and check-out operators, who earned approximately 383 pounds a week. For industry sectors as a whole, people who worked full-time in the electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply sector had the highest average earnings, at 955 pounds a week, compared with 505 pounds a week in the accommodation and food services sector, the lowest average earnings in 2023.

The median annual earnings for full-time employees in London was approximately 49,692 British pounds in 2025, compared with 47,441 pounds in the previous year. At the start of the provided time period, in 1999, the average full-time salary in London was 22,487 pounds per year, with median earnings exceeding 30,000 pounds per year in 2006, and reaching 40,000 pounds by 2020.

Gross weekly and hourly earnings by level of occupation, UK, quarterly, not seasonally adjusted. Labour Force Survey. These are official statistics in development.

Full-time workers in the finance and insurance sector had the highest average annual salaries in the United Kingdom in 2025, at approximately 58,488 British pounds, with those working in accommodation and food service professions having the lowest average salary, at 28,687 pounds per year.

Since 2006 the GLA Group has been implementing the London Living Wage (LLW).The Group continues to include the LLW as a requirement for contracts that are let or renewed. We calculate the Living Wage by a combination of two approaches. The first, developed by the Family Budget Unit (FBU), estimates the costs of a ‘Low Cost but Acceptable’ (LCA) budget for a selection of households and calculates the wage required to meet these costs. This is termed the “Basic Living Costs” approach. The second – the “Income Distribution” approach – simply identifies the median income for London (appropriately weighted for 11 household types) and then takes 60 per cent of it. The Mayor continues to lobby national Government to adopt the London Living Wage across Whitehall. All annual living wage reports, titled 'A Fairer London', can be found on the GLA website.

Software Engineer salary in London: median £72,000, £4,360/mo take-home, £2,050/mo rent, £2,310/mo after rent. RTI 47%. Real data, 2025/26 tax year.

Every year between 2013 and 2021, employees from the combined Pakistani and Bangladeshi ethnic group had the lowest average hourly pay out of all ethnic groups.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset illustrates the median household income in London, spanning the years from 2010 to 2023, with all figures adjusted to 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars. Based on the latest 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates from the American Community Survey, it displays how income varied over the last decade. The dataset can be utilized to gain insights into median household income trends and explore income variations.

Key observations:

From 2010 to 2023, the median household income for London increased by $1,184 (2.48%), as per the American Community Survey estimates. In comparison, median household income for the United States increased by $5,602 (7.68%) between 2010 and 2023.

Analyzing the trend in median household income between the years 2010 and 2023, spanning 13 annual cycles, we observed that median household income, when adjusted for 2023 inflation using the Consumer Price Index retroactive series (R-CPI-U-RS), experienced growth year by year for 5 years and declined for 8 years.

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2019-2023 5-Year Estimates. All incomes have been adjusting for inflation and are presented in 2022-inflation-adjusted dollars.

Years for which data is available:

• 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 0223

Variables / Data Columns

• Year: This column presents the data year from 2010 to 2023
• Median Household Income: Median household income, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific year
• YOY Change($): Change in median household income between the current and the previous year, in 2023 inflation-adjusted dollars
• YOY Change(%): Percent change in median household income between current and the previous year

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London median household income. You can refer the same here

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.

The change between the original salary and the new salary offer for financial sector professionals on the London job market in the United Kingdom peaked during the third quarter of 2021. During that quarter, professionals securing new jobs in achieved the highest salary increase between their original and the new position, with a 22 percent change. As of the last quarter of 2022, the average salary change when changing positions was 21 percent.

Average weekly earnings at industry level including manufacturing, construction and energy, Great Britain, monthly, non-seasonally adjusted. Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey.

£55,000 in London has the same purchasing power as approximately £44,000 in Reading. Reading is 20% cheaper overall (COL 100 vs 80).

Update 29-04-2020: The data is now split into two files based on the variable collection frequency (monthly and yearly). Additional variables added: area size in hectares, number of jobs in the area, number of people living in the area.

Context

I have been inspired by Xavier and his work on Barcelona to explore the city of London! 🇬🇧 💂

Content

The datasets is primarily centered around the housing market of London. However, it contains a lot of additional relevant data: - Monthly average house prices - Yearly number of houses - Yearly number of houses sold - Yearly percentage of households that recycle - Yearly life satisfaction - Yearly median salary of the residents of the area - Yearly mean salary of the residents of the area - Monthly number of crimes committed - Yearly number of jobs - Yearly number of people living in the area - Area size in hectares

The data is split by areas of London called boroughs (a flag exists to identify these), but some of the variables have other geographical UK regions for reference (like England, North East, etc.). There have been no changes made to the data except for melting it into a long format from the original tables.

Acknowledgements

The data has been extracted from London Datastore. It is released under UK Open Government License v2 and v3. The underlining datasets can be found here: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/uk-house-price-index https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/number-and-density-of-dwellings-by-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/subjective-personal-well-being-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/household-waste-recycling-rates-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/earnings-place-residence-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/recorded_crime_summary https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/jobs-and-job-density-borough https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/ons-mid-year-population-estimates-custom-age-tables

Cover photo by Frans Ruiter from Unsplash

Inspiration

The dataset lends itself for extensive exploratory data analysis. It could also be a great supervised learning regression problem to predict house price changes of different boroughs over time.

Average weekly earnings at sector level including manufacturing, finance and services, Great Britain, monthly, non-seasonally adjusted. Monthly Wages and Salaries Survey.

About this dataset

Context

The dataset presents the mean household income for each of the five quintiles in London, KY, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. The dataset highlights the variation in mean household income across quintiles, offering valuable insights into income distribution and inequality.

Key observations

• Income disparities: The mean income of the lowest quintile (20% of households with the lowest income) is 8,406, while the mean income for the highest quintile (20% of households with the highest income) is 144,994. This indicates that the top earners earn 17 times compared to the lowest earners.
• *Top 5%: * The mean household income for the wealthiest population (top 5%) is 249,623, which is 172.16% higher compared to the highest quintile, and 2969.58% higher compared to the lowest quintile.

https://i.neilsberg.com/ch/london-ky-mean-household-income-by-quintiles.jpeg" alt="Mean household income by quintiles in London, KY (in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars))">

Content

When available, the data consists of estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS) 2017-2021 5-Year Estimates.

Income Levels:

• Lowest Quintile
• Second Quintile
• Third Quintile
• Fourth Quintile
• Highest Quintile
• Top 5 Percent

Variables / Data Columns

• Income Level: This column showcases the income levels (As mentioned above).
• Mean Household Income: Mean household income, in 2022 inflation-adjusted dollars for the specific income level.

Good to know

Margin of Error

Data in the dataset are based on the estimates and are subject to sampling variability and thus a margin of error. Neilsberg Research recommends using caution when presening these estimates in your research.

Custom data

If you do need custom data for any of your research project, report or presentation, you can contact our research staff at research@neilsberg.com for a feasibility of a custom tabulation on a fee-for-service basis.

Inspiration

Neilsberg Research Team curates, analyze and publishes demographics and economic data from a variety of public and proprietary sources, each of which often includes multiple surveys and programs. The large majority of Neilsberg Research aggregated datasets and insights is made available for free download at https://www.neilsberg.com/research/.

Recommended for further research

This dataset is a part of the main dataset for London median household income. You can refer the same here