Where does your salary really rank in the UK?
London-centric media makes six figures feel normal. In reality most salaries sit far lower than the headlines suggest, and the regional gap is more extreme than people expect. Enter your salary and region to see where you genuinely stand.
Querying population data…
Where does your salary rank?
Income percentile by age cohort.
Average salary by UK region (ASHE 2024, full-time)
Regional variation in UK salaries is large. London leads at £44,500 median, followed by the South East at £40,500. Northern Ireland sits lowest at £32,000. The calculator shows both your national percentile and your regional percentile. A salary that places you above the national median may still sit below the local median if you work in London or the South East, while the same salary in Wales or the North East would place you comfortably above the regional midpoint.
| Region | Median gross annual (full-time) |
|---|---|
| London | £44,500 |
| South East | £40,500 |
| East of England | £38,500 |
| Scotland | £38,000 |
| West Midlands | £36,200 |
| South West | £35,800 |
| North West | £35,500 |
| East Midlands | £35,200 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £34,700 |
| Wales | £33,500 |
| North East | £32,800 |
| Northern Ireland | £32,000 |
Average salary by age group in the UK
UK salaries rise sharply through the 20s and 30s, peak in the 40s, then decline slightly from 50 onwards as some older workers reduce hours or shift to lower-intensity roles. The pattern is broadly consistent across regions, though London and the South East see higher absolute values at every age band. Younger workers aged 18-21 have a median of £18,500, while 40-49 year olds reach £40,500. If you are in your 20s and earning at the national median, you are significantly above the typical level for your age group.
Is £35,000 a good salary in the UK?
A gross annual salary of £35,000 places you just below the national median of £37,430 for full-time employees, at approximately the 47th-48th percentile. Outside London and the South East, £35,000 provides a comfortable standard of living in most regions. In London, it sits well below the local median of £44,500, and housing costs mean it would likely place you in a cost-burdened position. Context matters: for a 25-year-old, £35,000 is well above the typical salary for that age group (national median 22-29: £29,500). For a 45-year-old, the same salary is below the national median for that cohort (£40,500).
UK salary percentile benchmarks
Key thresholds to know: the national median for full-time employees is £37,430. Earning £50,000 places you at roughly the 75th percentile, meaning you earn more than three quarters of full-time employees. The top 10% threshold is £72,300. Earning £100,000 or more places you in approximately the top 3% of all full-time employees. These figures are for full-time employees only and are drawn from ONS ASHE 2024 microdata. A separate comparison of UK wealth by age provides complementary context: salary is income flow, while wealth is the accumulated stock.
Frequently asked questions
The median gross annual salary for full-time employees in Scotland is approximately £38,000, based on ASHE 2024 data. This is very close to the UK national median of £37,430, placing Scotland in the middle of the regional distribution. Scotland is broadly comparable to the East of England (£38,500) and ahead of the North West (£35,500), Wales (£33,500), and Northern Ireland (£32,000). Edinburgh and Aberdeen tend to have higher median salaries than the Scottish national figure, driven by financial services, oil and gas, and public sector employment.
To reach the top 10% of full-time UK employees, you need a gross annual salary of approximately £72,300 (ASHE 2024). The top 5% threshold is around £90,000, and the top 1% starts at approximately £170,000. These figures are for full-time employees only. Many people are surprised by how relatively modest the top 10% threshold is. The perception that high earners routinely make six figures is driven by London-centric reporting and social media overrepresentation of high earners. Earning £72,000 puts you ahead of nine out of ten full-time employees nationally.
Yes. Earning £100,000 or more places you in approximately the top 3% of all full-time UK employees, representing around 750,000 to 800,000 individuals. The figure is heavily concentrated in London and the South East, and in finance, law, medicine (consultants and GPs), technology, and senior management. The £100,000 threshold also carries a special tax significance: the personal allowance begins to taper at this point, creating an effective marginal tax rate above 60% on income between £100,000 and £125,140. Outside London and these specific sectors, a six-figure salary is genuinely exceptional.
Gross salary is total pay before any deductions. Net salary is your take-home after income tax, National Insurance contributions, pension contributions, and any student loan repayments. For a £37,430 gross salary, approximate take-home pay is around £29,000-£30,000 depending on pension and student loan status. This calculator uses gross salary because that is what ASHE reports. If you only know your take-home pay, you will need to gross it up before entering it. The relationship between gross and net is not linear: each additional pound earned above certain thresholds (£12,570 personal allowance, £50,270 higher rate threshold) is taxed at a higher rate.
The median gross annual salary for full-time employees in Northern Ireland is approximately £32,000, the lowest of any UK region (ASHE 2024). This is roughly £5,400 below the national median of £37,430. However, cost of living in Northern Ireland is also substantially lower, particularly housing: average house prices and rents are significantly below the GB average. A £32,000 salary in Belfast provides considerably more purchasing power than the same salary in London or the South East. When assessing your financial position, comparing salaries without adjusting for regional costs of living can produce a misleading picture.
Part-time employees have a significantly lower median gross annual salary than full-time employees, partly because they work fewer hours and partly because part-time roles are concentrated in lower-paying sectors. The calculator defaults to full-time comparisons but includes a toggle for part-time. If you work part-time, switching to the part-time comparison gives a fairer ranking. Comparing a part-time salary against full-time data would artificially deflate your percentile and not reflect your true position among peers with similar working patterns.
UK median full-time salaries by age group (ASHE 2024): 18-21 year olds earn a median of £18,500; 22-29 year olds £29,500; 30-39 year olds £38,000; 40-49 year olds £40,500; 50-59 year olds £38,800; 60+ year olds £33,500. The dip after 50 reflects a combination of career deceleration, part-time transition, and the fact that some high earners leave the workforce or shift to self-employment as they approach retirement age. If you are in your 30s and earning at or above the national median, you are performing above the typical level for your age cohort.
The gender pay gap varies by region, sector, and age group. Nationally it stands at approximately 19.8% for full-time employees (ASHE 2024). It is widest in London and the South East, driven by the concentration of high-paying sectors (finance, law, technology) where male overrepresentation at senior levels is pronounced. In regions with more public sector employment and less variable pay (Northern Ireland, Wales, North East), the gap tends to be narrower. Among full-time employees under 30, the gap has narrowed to below 5% in most regions and is near zero or slightly reversed in some occupational groups. The gap widens significantly after 35-40, coinciding with career breaks and part-time transitions that disproportionately affect women.
- Office for National Statistics. Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) 2024. Tables 1, 7, 8 and regional breakdowns. Nomis. nomisweb.co.uk/sources/ashe. OGL v3 licence.
- HMRC. Real Time Information (RTI) payroll statistics, 2024. GOV.UK statistics release.
- ONS. Gender Pay Gap Statistics, 2024. Companion release to ASHE. ons.gov.uk.