Discover How Your Salary Compares: Use Our Interactive Calculator to Find Out

As Labour’s tax policies increasingly impact both middle-income earners and the affluent, the debate over what defines “rich” has become more relevant than ever.

While wealth and income are distinct concepts, it’s the latter that often determines whether individuals feel financially comfortable. True wealth is rooted in assets, but for many, the focus remains on the flow of money into their bank accounts.

In a climate where numerous households are tightening their belts and anxiously anticipating potential tax hikes, people are left wondering: Am I faring better or worse than my peers, neighbors, or those in similar jobs within my community?

Are your earnings above or below what is typical for someone in your profession or area? And importantly, how much of your income is being consumed by taxes?

To gain insight into these questions, a specialized calculator based on data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is available. This tool can help you evaluate your salary against others, identify the regions in the UK with the highest earners, and discover the professions that offer the most and least financial reward.

Simply input your salary, age, and postcode into the calculator to see how you measure up.

Plus, we have analysed the data to tell you what you need to know about the state of Britain‘s earnings today.

> The best paid jobs… and careers that saw the biggest pay rises this year

How to use the salary calculator

Our calculator uses figures from the ONS, which are released every year, and give a snapshot of the average earnings in every occupation.

The figures, based on 2024 salaries, are the median, which is when you line up all the earners for that job in a row, from lowest to highest, and then take the middle figure for your average.

It does not use the ‘mean’ figure, which would be adding up all salaries for an occupation and dividing them by the number of jobs to get an average figure.

The median figure gives a better picture of the average individual’s income, and is less likely to be skewed by a few very high or very low earners.

While the figures give a good snapshot of the average salary for occupations, it’s not fully representative of what some employees earn. Some will be paid more, others will be paid less and the length of time people have been working for and where they do their job will heavily influence that.

Finally, the figures are based on payments made to both full-time and part-time employees, using Pay As You Earn (PAYE) records.

Our calculator will also show you your income after tax, National Insurance and student loan payments, and your average monthly wage.

You can also see how your pre-tax salary compares to every other salary, regardless of your occupation. 

For example, if you earn £25,000 pre-tax, you will find that you earn less than 67 per cent of the population, but if you earn £35,000, you earn more than 56 per cent of all employees.

Which professions are paid big bucks?

The average salary for full- and part-time employees is £31,602, which is around £25,512 after income tax and National Insurance contributions.

Pilots and air traffic controllers top the list of high earners in the UK with a median salary of £96,415, or £66,478 after tax. 

This puts them in the top 7 per cent of earners. Next on the list are marketing, sales and advertising directors, who earn an average of £82,962, or £58,675 after tax.

Chief executives and senior officials are also among the highest earners with a median salary of £81,776. 

While this headline figure might seem low, it covers chief executives at big and small businesses, not just those of listed companies who take home millions.

High earners in the public sector earn significantly less than those in the private sector. 

For example, senior police officers earned £63,986 on average in 2024, still putting them in the top 15 per cent of earners, while sergeants and below were paid £46,436.

In the medical field, paramedics took home £52,241 on average, while specialist nurses and nurse practitioners were paid £40,759 and £39,292 respectively.

Specialist medical practitioners including surgeons and anaesthetists were on the higher end, taking home £70,192 on average, placing them in the top 12 per cent of earners, while GPs earned £45,506.

In the middle, scaffolders, stagers and riggers took home £38,077, while electricians and plumbers earned £38,675 and £37,414 on average, respectively.

While these figures offer a good indication of how much people in each profession earn, the amount that they take home will vary according to their age.

For example, someone under the state pension age earning £25,000 will take home around £21,543 a year, or £1,795 per month. 

However, someone who has reached the state pension age with the same income will take home more – £22,537 a year, or £1,878 per month – because they no longer pay National Insurance. 

Similarly, a 50-year-old chief executive earning the average £81,776 salary takes home £57,987 after tax, but a 70-year-old would earn £61,634, nearly £4,000 more a year.

Student loan repayments will also affect your take-home pay. The amount that you pay back depends on which plan you are on and how much you earn. 

For example, a chief executive on an average salary but paying back their Plan 1 loan will earn £52,973 – nearly 10 per cent less than if they had no student loan – or £53,190 if they’re on Plan 2.

For lower earners, an employee earning £30,000, or £25,120 after tax, will have to pay back around £300 on their Plan 2 repayment plan every year, or nearly £500 on Plan 1.

Who are the lowest earners?

Exam invigilators earn the least – just £2,393 annually – but this tends to be seasonal and part-time work, which accounts for the significantly lower-than-average wage.

Sales and retail assistants take home £13,701 every year, or £13,384 after tax, putting them in the bottom 3 per cent of earners.

They are closely followed by beauticians (£14,883) and hairdressers and barbers (£14,944).

Teaching assistants earn £17,338, less than half of what primary (£39,284) and secondary school teachers (£42,370) earn, while nursery teachers earn £28,703.

Our analysis shows that workers in many of the lowest-paid jobs, including customer service workers and receptionists, would not have to pay any income tax if the tax thresholds had risen in line with inflation. 

The personal allowance, which has not changed since 2021, should have increased from £12,570 to £17,047 had it risen in line with the cost of living.

Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, says: ‘Real wages are only about 3 per cent higher than they were in early 2008, just before the financial crisis. 

‘While recent nominal wage growth has been relatively strong, it has mostly served to restore real earnings to their pre-pandemic levels.’

Which regions make the most?

The average salary for full-time employees in the UK is £37,430.

The best-paid boroughs are concentrated in London and Surrey, with Richmond upon Thames coming out on top with a £47,588 median full-time salary, closely followed by Westminster (£45,910).

Wandsworth (£45,394), Kensington and Chelsea (£44,355) and Islington (£43,126) also feature in the top ten highest-paid boroughs.

The region with the lowest average salary is West Devon (£23,941). This is followed by Gwynedd, Wales (£24,165). Salaries are 36 and 35 per cent less than the UK average, respectively.

The East of England saw the highest growth in full-time weekly earnings in 2024 (7.4 per cent) followed by the North West (6.7 per cent). Scotland and Northern Ireland had the weakest growth at 4.3 per cent.

Which jobs had large pay rises?

Full-time earnings increased across all industries between 2023 and 2024, but some sectors had larger pay rises than others.

Accommodation and food service activities came out top, with a 9.8 per cent increase, while agricultural, forestry and fishing salaries increased 9.7 per cent between 2023 and 2024. 

Information and communication and financial and insurance employees both received 9.5 per cent average pay rises.

Full-time public sector roles received a 5.2 per cent pay rise in 2024, while private sector wages rose 6.3 per cent.

Weaker wage growth in the public sector is largely because 60 per cent of roles are in education and human health and social work activities, where earnings rose 4.9 per cent. Mining and quarrying received the lowest pay rise at 1.6 per cent.

How to bag a wage increase

If our figures reveal that you are earning less than others like you, it may be time to ask for a pay rise.

This is easier said than done, especially at a time when wage growth remains sluggish and the unemployment rate is rising.

Pay growth slowed to 5 per cent in the three months leading up to May, according to the ONS. Meanwhile the unemployment rate has risen to 4.7 per cent – the highest in four years – and the number of job vacancies has fallen continuously for three years.

Jack Kennedy says: ‘The most effective approach to getting a pay rise is to clearly demonstrate your value to your employer. 

‘Highlight how you’ve gone above and beyond your role, whether by contributing to cost savings, driving revenue, completing key projects or stepping up with new responsibilities.

‘Point to any new skills or qualifications you’ve gained, and don’t overlook consistent positive feedback from clients or colleagues.’

He suggests researching what similar roles in your industry are paying so you can benchmark your request confidently and realistically.

Research by the jobs board CV-Library shows that far fewer roles are advertised with salary information compared to 18 months ago.

Founder and chief executive Lee Biggins says it is ‘perhaps a consequence of a tighter labour market with fewer vacancies available and a higher rate of applications per job’.

He adds: ‘To boost earnings, target sectors with higher pay or strong growth such as IT and healthcare – the same job title can sometimes pay significantly more in a different sector.’