The average salary by age – how does your income compare?
Are you making more than your peers? We look at the average salary by age to see how much the typical Brit earns at different stages of life
Pay continues to grow for workers across the UK – but have you ever looked at yours and wondered how it compares to your peers?
The median monthly pay for employees before tax is £2,626 (May 2026), according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up 4.6% from £2,511 in May 2025.
But earnings from a job can vary dramatically based on your role, age and where you live.
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The ONS regularly releases data on worker pay based on these factors, so you can cross-check whether you’re keeping up with others in your age group.
What is the average salary by age?
The ONS looks at median pay when assessing earnings figures. The statistics body says this offers a more accurate reflection of the “average wage”, as it discounts extreme pay earned by people at both ends of the data.
It also breaks down the figures based on age brackets, with the latest data showing the median pay for UK workers aged 0 to 17 is £457 a month.
This is unsurprising, as many aged 0 to 17 will not be in work and earning, dragging the median figure down.
Once you get to the 18 to 24-years-old bracket, when many people start entering the workforce, the median pay jumps up to £1,830 a month.
The figures show pay typically continues to rise after this point – median pay for 25 to 34-year-olds is £2,820, more than the overall UK median of £2,626.
Median pay is highest among 35 to 49-year-olds, who have years of experience and pay rises behind them. The median pay for this age group is £3,062 per month.
After this, average pay begins to slide, as workers filter out of the workforce and retire.
Fifty to 64-year-olds earn a median monthly pay of £2,698, while those aged 65 and over, around state pension age, see a significant drop off in their monthly pay (£1,582).
Age bracket | Median pay (May 2026) |
0-17 years | £457 |
18-24 years | £1,830 |
25-34 years | £2,820 |
35-49 years | £3,062 |
50-64 years | £2,698 |
65 years and over | £1,582 |
Credit: ONS
Where do people get paid the most and least in the UK?
The latest data from the ONS shows, unsurprisingly, Brits living in specific areas in London have the highest monthly pay on average when looking at the whole of the UK.
Research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank found pay growth post-pandemic was concentrated in business service sectors, which tend to be highly paid and located in and around the capital.
Workers who live in Wandsworth have the highest monthly median pay – £3,984 and well over the UK average of £2,626.
Median pay in Westminster is £3,935, according to the ONS’s latest data, while workers living in Camden and City of London earn a monthly pay of £3,759.
The 10 highest-earning areas across the UK are in the capital.
Borough/Local authority | Monthly median pay |
Merton, Kingston upon Thames and Sutton | £3,169 |
Haringey and Islington | £3,257 |
Lewisham and Southwark | £3,300 |
Tower Hamlets | £3,311 |
Bromley | £3,385 |
Lambeth | £3,479 |
Kensington & Chelsea and Hammersmith & Fulham | £3,726 |
Camden and City of London | £3,759 |
Westminster | £3,935 |
Wandsworth | £3,984 |
Credit: ONS
The areas where people earn the least each month are spread across the UK. Median pay for people living in coastal spots like the Isle of Wight, Torbay, Blackpool and Gwynedd (Wales) all fall well below the UK average.
The median monthly pay in each of these four places is £2,279, £2,304, £2,326 and £2,331, respectively.
Monthly pay is also well below the UK average in Leicester (£2,301), Blackburn and Darwen (£2,312) and Bradford (£2,346).
What jobs pay the most?
Work is highest paid in the information and communication, and finance and insurance sectors, based on the ONS’s latest data.
Workers in the information and communication sector earn a median monthly pay of £4,093 while those in finance and insurance receive £4,193 on average.
Pay in the construction sector is above the UK average as well, with the median worker earning £2,816 a month.
The median education worker earns around £2,619 a month, according to the ONS, while those in the manufacturing sector get £3,070 a month.
The latest data from the ONS also shows where pay is rising the most, with health and social care workers receiving the highest increases (7%) in the year to May 2026.
The median monthly construction pay rose by 5.7% while those working in information and communication saw median pay increase by 4.7%, above the UK average of 4.6%.
