What Is A Good Salary In London? (What You Need To Know)

are you contemplating a move to the capital or perhaps you're already settled in the bustling heart of the UK and are pondering whether your salary is sufficient enough for a comfortable life in the capital well we're gonna unpack what a good salary in London really looks like how much it takes to live comfortably the hidden costs of living in the capital and some of the top paying roles you can find welcome to Upper games money my name is Sammy and I lived in London for nearly 20 years of my life so I know firsthand what it takes to make living in the capital somewhat palatable let's get straight to the point the office for National statistics reports that as of 2023 the average full-time salary in London is just shy of 37 000 pounds now the national average salary or medium wage as it's also known as 32 000 pounds which means if you're living in the capital you're paid on average five thousand pounds higher which when you think about it makes perfect sense we all know London is an expensive place to live and so jobs generally pay more for you to live here but interestingly when you compare London to some of the biggest cities in the world it doesn't actually even feature in the top 10 most expenses which is totally mad right so what is a good salary in London well I lived in a city center and all around the surrounding boroughs for many years and I started out on a minimum wage when I first finished University I started out as a waiter but over the course of a decade I worked my way up to director level in the hospitality industry and my wage changed a lot during that time I started out on less than 20K a year but ended up on close to 80k before recently leaving to focus on my own businesses now I can tell you firsthand that my finances were in terrible shape until I was earning around 50 000 pounds and for me that was just the reality of life in London most of my money went on rent travel and bills which is almost 60 to 70 percent of it just for these things whilst it might sound odd to some and way over the average UK wage London is one of the busiest socially active and of course the most expensive city in the country so it's very easy to burn through your cash if you're not careful before I was earning good money I had to get by and that meant flat sharing with friends or Partners shopping in Lidl buses over tubes and House parties instead of nights out essentially I was keeping a cap on my living expenses and doing my best to get to the end of the month and that was simply the truth of how it is in London whilst Millions get by on the average wage and sub struggle with less there's no denying it to play in the big city you do need a decent salary a study conducted by timeout magazine in 2019 survey 20 000 lenders to find a sweet spot in their salary where they could afford some luxuries I'll highlight some luxuries here because it wasn't driving a Bentley and living in Chelsea these consisted of things like eating out twice a month a holiday once a year to Europe a gym membership and some small amount of savings for you to put by the results you needed 50 000 pounds to live comfortably this was pretty close to my figure that I said earlier but this was back in 2019 so when we add the inflation figures on Top This actually sits at 57 043 pounds this is 20K above the reported average which is totally mad right so we can really assume here that most londoners are finding it extremely difficult to live comfortably especially as wages are not currently rising as fast as the current inflation rate so let's look at the average London salary by profession so as mentioned briefly the average wage in the the capital is just shy of thirty seven thousand Pounds however the average annual salary differs vastly by profession so if you study to be a lawyer or a doctor then you should be expecting to get paid the bigger bucks and that is the reality of how it works in London right now so let's have a quick look at some salaries here if you're on a tech salary in the tech industry around about 100K a starting lawyer 73 000 pounds Finance or investment 63k HR around about 45 recruitment comes in at 40K a bus driver an average bus driver weighs 33 000 pounds and a Hospitality worker waiters and bar staff 25k now as you can see London's average salaries varies hugely by profession with a vast disparity between Finance Tech lawyers and the hospitality industry and public service roles and these figures I got were all from the leading UK job boards so let's have a look at the UK tax system impact on net income now it's not just about gross income you do need to consider the UK income tax bans now you get a tax-free allowance of 12 570 pounds then anything up to 50 270 pounds your tax 20 then it's 40 for earnings between 50 271 pounds and 150 Grand and 45 anything over now you do obviously have to then factor in National Insurance which will Dent your net salary even further now let's take a little look at the cost of living in London and it does come with costs rent taking a large chunk of that out of your budget so the monthly rent for a one bedroom flat in central London actually averages around about 1 700 pounds but having spoken to friends and family recently this number is more close to two grand or a little bit more greater London is slightly cheaper of course but you'll still have to part with around 1 200 to 1 400 pounds a month but if you can opt for a flat share this might be a little bit better for you so let's have a little look at the average rent by London borough and the center of course it's super expenses but as you expand out things do get cheaper but you will need to factor in travel costs too if you work in the city center let's have a little chat about everyday costs a weekly grocery shop might set you back around 40 to 50 pounds if you're a single man or woman and a monthly oyster car for zones ones and two is around about 140 pounds right now dining out and obviously any other costs will also add up you know there's fixed cost to think about too you have council tax utility bills and even a TV license as well they're not pay that and they can take a significant toll on your monthly budget but the true hidden costs are your everyday expenses those morning coffees in prep lunchtime trips with the teams of the local Street Food Market and of course those after work pints can quickly take the dent in your budgets so could I live in London with my salary let's have a little look and work this one out this does depend on so many factors like location financial position any dependence debts and overall outgoings that you might have and if these are high and you're earning kind of near minimum wage you know that that's going to be challenging for you so let's take a little look at how you can evaluate your current salary and whether it's suitable to live in the capital so if you're earning around 30 000 pounds annually after tax and National Insurance contributions you're left with around about 24 Grand which is two grandish a month now after deducting rent transport groceries and other expenses you're probably going to find yourself pretty stretched but it's not all loss with smart budgeting and perhaps opting for a flat share you can certainly make it work but as soon as you increase this number as long as you don't have a dose of Lifestyle inflation then your spending power will increase with your in budgeting is an essential step when you live in the capital and apps like Plumb or chip and websites like money saving expert and of course up the gains can be a valuable resource for you when you're financially planning and we'll leave links to these in the description below now to wrap this up living in London with a comfortable salary is perfectly achievable with some careful planning and financial wisdom by understanding your salary distributions accounting for living costs evaluating your income and perhaps seeking additional income opportunities you can navigate your financial journey in the city with confidence now if you've enjoyed this video please make sure you like And subscribe and check out our latest video which is is 70k a good salary in the UK and we'll catch you soon peace out guys [Music] [Music]

Channel: Up the Gains Money

Views: 24,238

Keywords: LivingInLondon, LondonLife, UKLiving, LondonSalary, LondonExpenses, LondonCostOfLiving, FinancialPlanning, CityLife, UKSalary, UKExpenses, IncomeInLondon, LondonJobs, LondonEconomy, LondonFinance, LondonProperty, LondonRealEstate, CostOfLiving, MoneyInLondon, LondonLivingCosts, BudgetingInLondon, living in london, moving to london, life in london, why move to london, things to do in london, how much does it cost to live in london, cost of living in london, is london expensive, london life

Id: SgKLAwRXfdg

Length: 8min 44sec (524 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 21 2023