![Uk incomes](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Uk_incomes.png)
Median household disposable income in the UK was £29,400 in the financial year ending (FYE) 2019, up 1.4% (£400) compared with growth over recent years; median income grew by an average of 0.7% per year between FYE 2017 and FYE 2019, compared with 2.8% between FYE 2013 and FYE 2017.
The rise in median income has occurred during a period where the employment rate grew by 0.5 percentage points, while real total pay for employees increased by an average of 1.0% across the 12 months in FYE 2019 compared with FYE 2018.
Median income of people living in retired households increased by 1.1% (£300), while the median income of people living in non-retired households grew by 1.3% (£400).
Data sources
There are a number of different sources of data on income which results in different estimates of income due to different sample sizes, population types (e.g. whether the population sample includes the self-employed, pensioners, individuals not liable to tax), definitions of income (e.g. gross earnings vs original income vs gross income vs net income vs post tax income).
The Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI) is a dataset from
HM Revenue and Customs
HM Revenue and Customs (His Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or HMRC) is a non-ministerial government department, non-ministerial Departments of the United Kingdom Government, department of the His Majesty's Government, UK Government responsible fo ...
(HMRC) based on individuals who could be liable to tax. HMRC does not hold information on individuals whose income is below the personal allowance (£8,105 in 2012/13).
Furthermore, SPI does not include income from non taxable benefits such as housing benefits or
Jobseeker's Allowance.
The Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) is a dataset from an annual survey of approximately 50,000 businesses by the
Office for National Statistics
The Office for National Statistics (ONS; cy, Swyddfa Ystadegau Gwladol) is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.
Overview
The ONS is responsible for th ...
(ONS) and covers annual earnings, public and private sector pay differential and the
gender pay gap
The gender pay gap or gender wage gap is the average difference between the remuneration for men and women who are working. Women are generally found to be paid less than men. There are two distinct numbers regarding the pay gap: non-adjusted ...
. ASHE does not cover individuals who are self-employed.
The Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset is based on the Family Resources Survey (FRS) from the
Department for Work and Pensions
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(DWP). It includes information on equalised household disposable income and can be used to represent the distribution of household income and income inequality (Gini coefficient).
Other data sources include Average Weekly Earnings, Labour Force Survey, Index of Labour Cost per Hour, Unit Labour Costs, Effects of Taxes and Benefits on Household Income / Living Costs and Food Survey, European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions, Pensioners Income Series, Wealth and Assets Survey, National Accounts Estimates of Gross Disposable Household Income, and Small Area Income Estimates.
Taxable income
![UK_income_percentiles](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/UK_income_percentiles.svg)
The most recent SPI report (2012/13) gave annual median income as £21,000 before tax and £18,700 after tax.
The 2013/14 HBAI report gave median household income (2 adults) as £23,556.
The provisional results from the April 2014 ASHE report gives median gross annual earnings of £22,044 for all employees and £27,195 for full-time employees.
According to the OECD the average household net-adjusted disposable income per capita is $27,029 a year (in USD, ranked 14/36 OECD countries), the average household net financial wealth per capita is estimated at $60,778 (in USD, ranked 8/36), and the average net-adjusted disposable income of the top 20% of the population is an estimated $57,010 a year, whereas the bottom 20% live on an estimated $10,195 a year giving a ratio of 5.6 (in USD, ranked 25/36).
The 2013/14 HBAI reported that 15% of people had a relative low income (below 60% of median threshold) before housing costs.
Data from HMRC 2012-13; incomes are before tax for individuals. The personal allowance or income tax threshold was £8,105 (people with incomes below this level did not pay income tax).
Income by location
Income can vary considerably by location. For example, the locations (local administrative unit) with the highest incomes were the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
,
Kensington and Chelsea, and
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
with median annual incomes of £58,300, £37,800 and £35,200 respectively. The locations with the lowest incomes were
Hyndburn
Hyndburn is a local government district with borough status in Lancashire, England. Its council is based in Accrington and covers the outlying towns of Clayton-le-Moors, Great Harwood, Oswaldtwistle and Rishton. The borough was created in 197 ...
,
Torbay
Torbay is a borough and unitary authority in Devon, south west England. It is governed by Torbay Council and consists of of land, including the resort towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham, located on east-facing Tor Bay, part of Lyme ...
, and
West Somerset
West Somerset was a local government district in the English county of Somerset. The council covered a largely rural area, with a population of 34,900 in an area of ; it was the least populous non- unitary district in England. According to f ...
with median annual incomes of £17,000, £16,900 and £16,000 respectively.
A 2017 report from Trust for London found that London has a poverty rate of 27%, compared to 21% in the rest of England.
Income by age and gender
Data from the ''Survey of Personal Incomes 2012/13''.
Income by occupation
The tables below shows the ten highest and ten lowest paid occupations in the UK respectively, as at April 2014.
Post-tax household income
![Effects of tax and benefits on household income in the UK 2011 - 2012](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f1/Effects_of_tax_and_benefits_on_household_income_in_the_UK_2011_-_2012.png)
Data from the ''Households Below Average Income'' (HBAI) report from the Department of Work and Pensions 2013/14:
![UK Equivalised Income Distribution](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/UK_Equivalised_Income_Distribution.png)
Data from HMRC – Percentile points of the income distribution as estimated from the ''Survey of Personal Incomes'', note this only includes individuals who pay some income tax:
Wealth
The
net worth
Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...
information is based on data from HMRC for 2004-2005 and includes marketable assets including house equity, cash, shares, bonds and investment trusts. These values do not include personal possessions.
High income
The
Institute for Fiscal Studies
The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is an economic research institute based in London, United Kingdom, which specialises in UK taxation and public policy. It produces both academic and policy-related findings.
The institute's aim is to "a ...
issued
reporton the UK's highest earners in January 2008. There are 42 million adults in the UK of whom 29 million are income tax payers. (The remainder are pensioners, students, homemakers, the unemployed, those earning under the personal allowance, and other unwaged.) A summary of key findings is shown in the table below:
The top 0.1% are 90% male and 50% of these people are in the 45 to 54 year age group. 31% of these people live in London and 21% in South East England. 33% of these people are company directors (as reported to HMRC). 30% work in finance and 38% in general business (includes law). The very richest rely on earnings (salary and bonuses) for 58% of income. Income from self-employment (such as partnerships in law or accountancy firms) accounts for 23% of income and about 18% from investment income (interest and share dividends).
Sources of income
The ''Family Resources Survey'' is a document produced by the
Department for Work and Pensions
, type = Department
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, logo_width = 166px
, formed =
, preceding1 =
, jurisdiction = Government of the United Kingdom
, headquarters = Caxton House7th Floor6–12 Tothill Stree ...
. This details income amongst a representative sample of the British population. This report tabulates sources of income as a percentage of total income.
Other social security benefits include:
Housing Benefit
Housing Benefit is a means-tested social security benefit in the United Kingdom that is intended to help meet housing costs for rented accommodation. It is the second biggest item in the Department for Work and Pensions' budget after the state ...
,
Income Support
Income Support is an income-related benefit in the United Kingdom for some people who are on a low income, but have a reason for not actively seeking work. Claimants of Income Support may be entitled to certain other benefits, for example, Housi ...
and
Jobseeker's Allowance
See also
*
Poverty in the United Kingdom
Poverty in the United Kingdom refers to the portion of the population of the United Kingdom that are considered to be in poverty under some measures of poverty.
Data based on incomes published in 2016 by the Department for Work and Pensions ( ...
*
Taxation in the United Kingdom
Taxation in the United Kingdom may involve payments to at least three different levels of government: central government (HM Revenue & Customs), devolved governments and local government. Central government revenues come primarily from income ...
*
Pension provision in the United Kingdom
Pensions in the United Kingdom, whereby United Kingdom tax payers have some of their wages deducted to save for retirement, can be categorised into three major divisions - state, occupational and personal pensions.
The state pension is based on ...
*
United Kingdom labour law
United Kingdom labour law regulates the relations between workers, employers and trade unions. People at work in the UK can rely upon a minimum charter of employment rights, which are found in Acts of Parliament, Regulations, common law and equit ...
*
Universal basic income in the United Kingdom
Universal basic income is a subject of much interest in the United Kingdom. There is a long history of discussion yet it has not been implemented to date. Interest in and support for universal basic income has increased substantially amongst the ...
*
Universal Credit
Universal Credit is a United Kingdom social security payment. It is means-tested and is replacing and combining six benefits for working-age households with a low income: income-related Employment and Support Allowance, income-based Jobseeker's ...
References
* HMRC statistics â€
* IFS â€
{{DEFAULTSORT:Income In The United Kingdom
Income in the United Kingdom,
UK
Wealth in the United Kingdom
Economic inequality