What is the average salary by age – and how do you compare?

The amount of money that you earn from employment will typically change as you get older and gain more experience.

As you climb through the ranks and become more established in your career, your salary may increase, and so could your net worth.

The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, published by the Office of National Statistics, shows, particularly in the first half of your working life, earnings tend to rapidly increase with age.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up

What is the average salary by age?

Finding out what the average salary for your age group could be a helpful way for you to evaluate your own pay and see whether your income is higher or lower than your peers.

That knowledge could help you start making better financial decisions to build your savings. We look at the average savings by age in a separate article.

The median salary for all employees in the UK is £31,602 a year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) latest data from 2024, but, as can be seen above, income tends to increase as people get older, with earnings peaking for people in their forties. For full-time employees, the median annual pay (gross) in the UK is £37,430.

Young people earn the least, with 16 to 17 year olds only earning a median of £3,829 a year thanks to a lower minimum wage and the type of jobs that younger people tend to work in.

Meanwhile, people in their forties earn the most, likely because by this point in life most people have established themselves in a career and will probably be awarded better pay.

However, the data shows salaries start to fall once again when employees are in their fifties.

The reason for this decline could be a number of things, such as employees starting to work fewer hours as they edge closer to retirement age, leaving work due to health issues, or perhaps even retiring early.

The lower salaries for people in their sixties could also be because of the same factors, but a higher number of people in this decade of life will also be starting to retire.

The age at which you can currently start receiving the state pension is 66, though this is gradually increasing, so many people in the tail end of their sixties will have left the labour market and will be relying on private and state pension income, which is typically lower than a working salary.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Earnings and hours worked, age group: ASHE Table 6

What is the average earnings by age?

There is a difference between your salary and your earnings. Salaries tend to be provided in yearly figures, while earnings tend to be provided in weekly figures.

This is because they measure slightly different things. Your salary tends to be your basic pay, the amount paid to an employee before extras are added or deducted.

Your earnings, then, include your salary but also take into account bonuses on earned income, benefits in kind, or arrears of pay.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, November 2024

The overall median weekly earnings in the UK is £728 a week, but, as can be seen above, income tends to increase as people get older.

Similarly to average salaries, average earnings also peak for people in their forties.

The biggest step up in weekly earnings is between 22 to 29 year olds and 30 to 39 year olds, with there being a gap of £148 a week.

This is likely because a large influx of young people enter the labour market once they finish university at around 21 or 22 years old and will therefore be beginning their careers in entry-level positions with lower comparative pay.

Average earnings by region

The data from the ONS also divides average weekly earnings by region in the UK, and the findings are not surprising considering the country’s significant North/South divide.

The UK region with the highest median weekly earnings is London. Average earnings stand at £853 a week in the capital, blazing ahead of the rest of the country.

High salaries are typically higher in London as it is at the heart of many of the UK’s most profitable industries, including financial services.

The second highest-earning UK region is the South East, where the average resident earns £779 per week.

Meanwhile, the lowest-earning UK region is the North East, where the typical person will make just £661 a week – just under £200 less than their London peers.

The gender pay gap

Alongside large disparities appearing when looking at average earnings by age and region, there remains a gap between the median earnings of men and women.

Data from the ONS reveals that the average weekly earnings for all men is £709 while women only earn an average of £529 a week – a difference of £180.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, November 2024

When breaking this data down to full-time and part-time work, another stark divide can be found. A man working full-time tends to get paid an average of £773 a week compared to a woman’s £672.

For part-time work, however, the average woman gets paid slightly more than the average man. The ONS’ data shows that women in part-time positions earn an average of £273 a week, while a man working part-time tends to get paid £241 a week.

The reason that the average salary for women in part-time work is more than an average man’s is likely because a greater number of women work part-time than men, according to the House of Commons library.

Furthermore, the reason the overall gender pay gap is larger than the differences between both full and part-time work is because part-time work pays significantly less than full-time work.

However, while the figures are still far from being equal, significant progress has been made to bridge this gap in the last few decades.

The average salary of a woman in 1997 was £194 (£370 adjusted for inflation), to a man’s £344 (£657 in 2024).

When adjusted for inflation, we can see that the average weekly earnings of men has increased by 10% from 1997 to 2024. Meanwhile, the weekly pay for the average woman has increased by more than three times that, with earnings increasing by 46% since 1997.