The UK is a high-income economy, but how much do you need to earn for a comfortable life? When you think of moving to the UK, the first thing that comes to your mind is how much salary you will earn. From April 2023 the minimum hourly rate for workers aged 23 and over will be £10.42, this applies to all four countries of the United Kingdom. Although when applying for work visas in the UK, you must meet the minimum salary for that visa or occupation. For example, the Skilled Worker visa requires you to have a minimum salary of £25,600, but for a Social Services Manager you need to earn at least £29,400 as of November 2022. Job opportunities are plentiful in the UK and the country needs skilled workers from abroad. The unemployment rate in the UK is only 3.6% as of November 2022 with many vacancies needing to be filled by foreign workers.
What is the average salary in the UK?
The average gross annual pay for full time employees in the UK for 2022 was £33,000, which is £15.87 per hour (40 hours worked). This varies between the nations and regions of the UK with London seeing the highest salaries.
What is the average salary per region?
The UK has four countries and many regions within those countries, all of which vary in average salary. Each area is different in economy, demographics and opportunity, generally the bigger cities pay the highest wages due to the higher cost of living.
Nation or Region
Salary in GBP
London
41,866
South East
34,341
Scotland
33,332
East
32,539
West Midlands
31,601
South West
31,339
North West
30,716
Wales
30,596
East Midlands
30,326
Yorkshire
30,000
Northern Ireland
30,000
North East
29,521
What is the average salary per Industry?
Below is an overview of annual salaries across the UK in the most common sectors. There will be variations within these sectors, for example a Doctors salary compared to a Nurse.
Industry
Salary in GBP
Energy
45,770
Finance and Insurance
43,710
Mining and Quarrying
43,091
Information Technology
42,071
Scientific
38,700
Construction
36,259
Education
34,713
Transport and Distribution
34,028
Waste Management
34,010
Manufacturing
32,770
Real Estate
30,095
Healthcare
30,038
Hospitality
23,000
What do I need to earn for a comfortable life?
From April 2023 the minimum hourly rate for workers aged 23 and over will be £10.42, this equates to around £20,000 per year. For most occupations on the Skilled Worker Occupation List, will require you to earn at least £25,600. To live comfortably in the UK depends on your lifestyle, region and transport options and you can have a good life in the UK on these salaries. After a couple of years in the UK gaining work experience expect to earn around the £30,000 mark, on this salary is when you can expect to save money for the future and still have enough to holiday abroad. Management positions usually pay in the region of £40,000+ and Directors £60,000+, this can be achieved within 5 and 20 years respectively.
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