Average salary in London, UK
ONS data for April 2025 · Page updated
London pays more than anywhere else in the UK, but the spread inside the city is huge. Full-time jobs based in the City of London and Tower Hamlets, home to Canary Wharf, have medians far above those in most outer boroughs, and the gap between median and mean pay is wider here than in any other region because of very high earners in finance and law.
- Median full-time pay
- £49,692
- Change on a year earlier
- +4.7%
- Compared with the UK
- +27%
- Full-time jobs
- 3.1m
How pay is spread in London
Line: 10th to 90th percentile. Bar: the middle half of earners (25th to 75th). Mark and label: median. Where ONS doesn't publish the 90th percentile, the line stops at the highest published point.
| Full-time annual pay | London | Inner London | Outer London | UK |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | £27,418 | £29,814 | £24,053 | £23,990 |
| 25th percentile | £35,424 | £38,503 | £30,372 | £29,262 |
| Median | £49,692 | £54,649 | £40,040 | £39,039 |
| 75th percentile | £73,667 | £83,896 | £54,353 | £54,009 |
| 90th percentile | £115,775 | £134,282 | £74,844 | £76,903 |
| Mean | £70,275 | £79,962 | £46,529 | £48,512 |
These are gross annual earnings for full-time employee jobs based in London, wherever the employee lives. The median is the middle salary: half of full-time jobs pay more, half pay less. The mean is pulled up by a small number of very high earners, so the median is the better guide to a typical salary. Figures cover all of Greater London. Borough figures are by place of work.
Pay by London borough
Median full-time pay for jobs based in each borough. Boroughs with large office districts, such as the City, Tower Hamlets (Canary Wharf), Westminster and Camden, rank highest. Figures for boroughs with fewer jobs are less precise and can move a lot from year to year.
| Borough | Median | Full-time jobs |
|---|---|---|
| City of London | £68,663 | 490k |
| Tower Hamlets * | £66,686 | 225k |
| Westminster | £53,923 | 434k |
| Camden | £53,577 | 259k |
| Islington | £53,185 | 131k |
| Hammersmith and Fulham * | £50,435 | 69k |
| Southwark | £50,000 | 184k |
| Hackney * | £48,724 | 59k |
| Lambeth * | £48,690 | 72k |
| Kensington and Chelsea * | £45,600 | 46k |
| Newham | £44,347 | 81k |
| Bromley * | £43,474 | 45k |
| Hounslow | £43,068 | 81k |
| Wandsworth * | £43,035 | 73k |
| Lewisham * | £42,962 | 34k |
| Haringey * | £42,609 | 26k |
| Kingston upon Thames | £42,346 | 42k |
| Hillingdon | £41,422 | 116k |
| Havering * | £41,054 | 41k |
| Richmond upon Thames * | £41,037 | 36k |
| Enfield * | £40,036 | 49k |
| Croydon | £40,033 | 66k |
| Sutton | £39,874 | 32k |
| Barking and Dagenham * | £39,599 | 27k |
| Ealing * | £39,483 | 56k |
| Harrow * | £39,192 | 27k |
| Merton * | £38,471 | 35k |
| Brent | £38,311 | 55k |
| Barnet * | £38,294 | 47k |
| Greenwich | £38,128 | 50k |
| Waltham Forest * | £37,503 | 21k |
| Redbridge * | £35,464 | 34k |
| Bexley * | £35,187 | 32k |
* ONS rates this estimate as reasonably precise rather than precise (coefficient of variation above 5%).
What that means after tax
| Gross salary | Income tax | National Insurance | Take-home a year | A month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £49,692 | £7,424 | £2,970 | £39,298 | £3,275 |
| £73,667 | £16,899 | £3,484 | £53,284 | £4,440 |
The median and 75th percentile salaries above, for the 2026/27 tax year: tax code 1257L, no pension contributions, student loan or benefits in kind. Pension contributions through salary sacrifice would reduce both tax and take-home pay.
Who employs people in London
Financial and professional services dominate the highest-paid jobs, alongside technology, media, government and the headquarters of many national employers. Outer London has a larger share of public sector, retail, logistics and healthcare jobs, which is why its median sits close to the UK's.
Negotiating pay in London
London weighting. Many public sector and large private employers pay a separate London allowance or use London-specific pay bands. NHS staff in London receive a High Cost Area Supplement, worth 20% of basic pay in inner London, 15% in outer London and 5% in the fringe, subject to minimum and maximum amounts. Teachers have separate inner London, outer London and fringe pay ranges. Check which zone a role falls into before you compare offers.
Ask about the bonus. In financial services and law, bonus can be a large share of total pay. Ask for the target bonus and what was actually paid in recent years, and compare on total compensation. Our guide to total compensation in the UK covers how.
Contract location matters for hybrid roles. If you'll work mostly from home outside London, some employers will try to move you onto a regional band. If the role needs you in a London office part of the week, ask for the London rate and for the contract to name the London office.
A city median is a starting point, not a target. What you should ask for depends on your role, level and the employer. Check the pay ranges by role, or see where your salary sits in London.
Negotiating a job or pay rise in London?
Tell us your role and numbers. AI agents research the market for London and your role, then give you a target, a floor and the levers to pull. Free.
Run a free analysisFull negotiation £99 once. £5k+ uplift or a full refund.
Pay in nearby cities
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 (provisional), Table 7.7a (work geography). Gross annual pay for full-time employee jobs, April 2025. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. See how we use this data.