Average UK salary: ever wondered how you stack up? (2024)

“Average UK salary” is something you’ll have googled at some point in your life – either when you’re trying to figure out why half of your friends still take their laundry to their parents’ house or why you still have to take your laundry to your parents’ house.

With issues like the gender pay gap never far from the news, interest rates rising in the wake of the Covid pandemic and the cost of living crisis in full swing, knowing how your annual salary compares to the national average wage – whether you’re a part-time worker or work full-time in UK – has never been important.

Interestingly, a recent poll conducted by the New Statesman uncovered a strange patter when it comes to salary perception: whatever people earn, they tend to assume their peers are earning more. The headline discovery was that 60 per cent of highly paid people – those earning between £80,000 and £100,000 – believe themselves to be “about average” (as you’ll see below, that is very much not the case).

In short, it can be a minefield trying to get a grasp of your earning power and how that stacks up. So here, we demystify how much people in the UK are actually earning, taking into account everyone from those on minimum wage to those earning big bread, and explain how you can boost your full-time salary to be among the country’s top earners.

The average UK salary

A word of warning: interpreting the data at the moment is particularly difficult, as 2020 and 2021’s findings were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and associated difficulties in accessing data from businesses. So any comparisons should be made with a pinch of statistical salt.

The Office for National Statistics’s (ONS) most recent data shows that the UK employment rate has increased over the last three months, rising 0.2 per cent in October to December 2022, largely driven by part-time workers. That’s not to say salaried staff are being forgotten – in January 2023, there were 30 million payrolled employees in the UK, up 102,000 on December’s figure, and up 1.028 million on the pre-Covid (February 2020) level. In fact, the number of payrolled employees is now well above pre-pandemic levels. However, the estimated number of job vacancies fell by 76,000 to 1.134 million between November 2022 and January 2023 – the seventh consecutive fall since May last year. This is largely due to economic uncertainty, which is holding employers back from recruiting.

Employment figures aren’t earning power, however, and the growth in pay hasn’t followed suit. On the surface, growth in regular pay (excluding bonuses) was 6.7 per cent among employees in October to December 2022. However, regular pay has fallen by 2.5 per cent since the year before when adjusted for inflation (real wages), and, although this is smaller than the record fall after the 2008 financial crash, it’s one of the largest falls in growth since records began in 2001. The strikes – mostly over pay – have also broken records, with 843,000 working days lost to labour disputes – the highest since November 2011.

However, with the early-year volatility, it's worth analysing 2021 for a more settled look at the pounds and pence we've been taking home, and it's not all bad. The ONS tells us that in April 2022, median weekly earnings for full-time employees went up by 5 per cent compared to the previous year, meaning that the average person took home £640 per week, or approximately £33,280 p.a. But, adjusted for inflation, it’s still 2.6 per cent lower than that year. Before you start celebrating or lamenting your current lot in life, the figures, unsurprisingly, vary hugely depending on a person’s age, gender, location, and occupation. Here’s a quick breakdown…

Location

It won’t surprise you to learn that Londoners are taking home the most money – a median £805 per week. The median in the capital is £141 more per week than the next highest, the South East (£664), and £165 more than the median for the whole of the UK. Bear in mind, however, that this figure is boosted by the city’s super-earners – think CEOs on six, or even seven, figures. In regional terms, on place-of-residence basis, the North East has the lowest median pay, at £575 a week for full-timers.

Age and gender

It also pays to have a bit of experience in the working world. Those aged 16 to 17 earned the least last year, an average of £229 per week (£241 for men and £220 for women). The figures jump to £411 and £393 for men and women between the ages of 18 and 21, respectively. You can expect your earnings to peak during middle age, with those aged 40 to 49 earning more than any other age group at a median of £727 a week. After that, the average salary decreases steadily as you approach retirement age: full-timers aged 50-59 earn an average of £681 per week. And for those aged 60 and above, the figure is £603. Keep in mind that these numbers probably also start to dip as a consequence of workers retiring, thus reducing the average income significantly.

Occupation

There’s a chance that you might not be earning as much as your peers because of the industry you’re in. That’s fine if you’re passionate about your job and you’re earning enough to support yourself, but if money’s your main motivator you might want to consider a switch. Still, it’s worth bearing in mind that the highest-paid jobs in the country belong to chief executives and senior officials, who earn a median of £1,561 per week. In fact, research from thinktank High Pay Centre suggests that by 2pm on January 5, 2023, the median FTSE 100 CEOs earnings had surpassed the median annual wage for a full-time worker.

If you really want to earn the most money possible, it could be worth biding your time and working your way up in your current company – or getting into politics, but who wants to join Westminster right now?

The second highest-earning jobs belong to marketing, sales, and advertising directors (£1,486 per week). In third place are aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers (£1,418 per week), followed by IT directors (£1,408 per week).

The pandemic’s impact

The ONS warns against making snap judgements based on month-to-month datasets, primarily due to the effect Covid-19 has had on the economy, including furlough periods. After an initial plummet in average earnings at the start of the pandemic, figures began to climb steadily. Much of this, however, could be attributed to the composition effect, which means that because many of the jobs that were lost during the pandemic were in low-paid sectors (hospitality, for example), the average for the jobs that remained was brought up. The ONS says that this artificial bump in wage growth has now largely dissipated.

When to get a raise

Unhappy with where you currently stand against the rest of the population? Well then, the time to start working towards a raise is now. But we’re not suggesting that you immediately storm into your boss’s office and demand more money after reading this article. Getting what you think you deserve is a much more delicate process that must be done right in order to succeed.

It’s important to keep in mind that you should expect a raise about once a year, so if your earnings have already been given a boost quite recently, then it’s probably best to grit your teeth and make do with what you’ve got for now. On the other hand, if it’s coming up to a year or more since your salary last got a hike, you should start working on your strategy immediately.

The most obvious time to ask for a pay rise is during a performance review, so it’s a good idea to make sure you know when your next one is coming up. Unfortunately, a lot of how you approach the rest of the process depends on your manager’s personality. If they’re a no-nonsense and straight to the point kind of character, then an email in the run-up to your review clearly stating that you would like to discuss a revised salary should go down well. In other cases, you might have to slip it in during another conversation.

But whenever the topic does finally come up, make sure you’re prepared with a good case as to why you actually deserve a raise. Have you taken on any more responsibilities since your last pay rise? Or developed any new strategies that have significantly benefited the company? Have a long think and have these points clear in your mind before you go in and ask for more money. You need to deliver your case with confidence, so there’s no room for forgetting key points and stumbling over words – a morning rehearsal of your statement in front of your bathroom mirror probably wouldn’t hurt.

It’s also essential to have a reasonable idea of how much of a raise you could expect. Research the average salaries of other people in your field and even ask around to see how much other people are earning. Don’t be shy with conversations about money with your friends; the more you stay in the dark about how much others are earning, the less confident you’ll feel while in negotiations with your manager. After that, you can either decide on the amount you want your salary to increase by or wait for a number to be suggested by the company. Remember, this is a delicate game, so the second option is probably the safest and, if the number is too low for your liking, you can try to renegotiate. It’s better to slowly get to the figure you want that way than to go in with an off-putting proposal that immediately gets turned down.

If you do get turned down, don’t be disheartened. Use this as an opportunity to show that you’re keen to stay with the company and improve your performance: ask what kind of things you could start doing to merit a pay rise in the future and walk out of negotiations with your head held high. It’s not always personal – these days it’s not always uncommon for companies to simply not have the budget. If you love your job, stick with it and see what you can do to secure a raise in the near future. If you’re already fed up of it anyway, it’s probably worth looking into other options.

How to negotiate the salary of a new job offer

So, you made the decision to move on and have secured yourself another job offer. Great news, right? Before you let out a sigh of relief and start celebrating, you need to think wisely about how you accept the offer so that you can get the most out of it.

At this stage, wait for the employer to put down a number, thank them for the offer, but politely ask for time to consider it before you run in and seal the deal. While you might feel as though you want to accept the job right there and then, it’s much wiser and actually expected that you do this, as it will give you time to think properly without excitement clouding your judgement.

Now you’ve texted your mum the good news and calmed down, it’s time to think carefully about the salary you want from the role and how to go about getting it. In many ways, this process is very similar to the way you would negotiate a pay rise. Just like before, you need to be prepared with knowledge of how much others in your field are earning and you need to be able to sell yourself, which you’re clearly already pretty good at considering the fact you’re in this position.

When it comes to starting negotiations with the employer it’s vital that you broach the subject without being defensive and frame your desired salary as a simple suggestion rather than a diva demand. Make sure to stay enthusiastic about the role throughout, as the aim here is to come across as a loyal and valuable potential member of the team. Any ultimatums are a big no-no – you’ll put them off straight away and potentially end up leaving negotiations jobless.

If they won’t budge on the salary, then you can explore negotiating other employee benefits, such as holidays and bonuses. Compared to the increase in salary that you previously suggested, these benefits will seem like small requests, so they might be more inclined to throw you a bone, particularly if you’ve managed to keep the charm turned on throughout negotiations. If not, it could also be worth asking if there’s any possibility of scheduling a pay review once you’ve passed your probation period – this way you’ll have a chance to showcase your ability in the role and will be able to argue your case with more confidence. But remember, a man’s worth isn’t reflected in his salary.

How to get the most out of your career

As the chairman of Reed, James Reed, notes in Life’s Work: 12 Proven Ways To Fast-Track Your Career, you’re going to get the most out of doing a job that you enjoy. To work out what it is you should be doing, he recommends a little bit of self-reflection to help you identify what you like and what you don’t like, your values in life and what you’d like your purpose to be.

“There are nine feel-good fundamentals for sustainable work,” he says. “Doing what you enjoy, having good colleagues, having the opportunity to try new things, being able to make a difference, doing work with meaning, having fun, working close to home, being yourself and finding a well-fitting culture.” Regardless of what you’re earning, if you can’t tick all of these boxes with your current job, then it’s unlikely that a fatter paycheque will improve your overall happiness. It’s a cliché, but it’s true that money doesn’t buy happiness. Your quality of life is more valuable than any bonus.