UK Salary Heatmap by Region 2025
Visual cartogram + league table of median gross annual pay across the 12 UK regions (Office for National Statistics ASHE April 2025, released October 2025). London leads at £39,778; the North East trails at £29,584. Gap: £10,194/year.
Geographic cartogram
Each tile is one region; the colour intensity tracks the median pay (darker = higher). Geography is approximate - tiles arranged for intuitive recognition, not strict accuracy.
Scotland
£33,061
Scotland
£33,061
Scotland
£33,061
Scotland
£33,061
Northern Ireland
£31,232
North East
£29,584
North West
£31,330
Yorkshire and the Humber
£30,682
West Midlands
£31,345
East Midlands
£30,690
East of England
£34,104
Wales
£30,732
South West
£31,432
South East
£35,215
London
£39,778
Hover any tile for the exact figure. Scotland is rendered as a 2×2 supertile reflecting its geographic + population scale relative to English regions.
League table
Sorted highest to lowest. Each region's percentage gap vs the UK all-workers median (£33,080) appears in the rightmost column.
| # | Region | Median pay 2025 | vs UK median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | £39,778 | +20.2% |
| 2 | South East | £35,215 | +6.5% |
| 3 | East of England | £34,104 | +3.1% |
| 4 | Scotland | £33,061 | -0.1% |
| 5 | South West | £31,432 | -5.0% |
| 6 | West Midlands | £31,345 | -5.2% |
| 7 | North West | £31,330 | -5.3% |
| 8 | Northern Ireland | £31,232 | -5.6% |
| 9 | Wales | £30,732 | -7.1% |
| 10 | East Midlands | £30,690 | -7.2% |
| 11 | Yorkshire and the Humber | £30,682 | -7.2% |
| 12 | North East | £29,584 | -10.6% |
Important context: all-workers vs full-time
The figures above are median gross annual pay for all workers (full-time and part-time combined). Including part-timers pulls the median down vs the full-time-only figure most people picture when they think "average UK salary".
- UK median (all workers) April 2025: £33,080
- UK median (full-time only, in job >1 year) April 2025: £39,039
- Gap: the £5,959 difference reflects the share of part-time workers (mostly women under 40 and over 60) and the lower hours they work, not lower hourly pay per se.
- For full-time-only regional figures + percentile breakdowns by region, see /statistics + /highest-paying-jobs-uk.
What this means for take-home pay
Headline regional gap is £10,194/year between London (£39,778) and the North East (£29,584). After Income Tax + NI + pension at 5%, the net difference is roughly £6,800/year - the marginal slice above £12,570 personal allowance is taxed at 28% combined (20% IT + 8% NI). London salary advantage shrinks materially against UK cost-of-living differentials in housing.
For Scotland, the divergent Income Tax bands (intermediate 21%, higher 42%, advanced 45%, top 48%) mean the take-home gap vs other UK nations widens at higher incomes:
- Scotland median £33,061 - in the 21% intermediate band slice, take-home ~£25,800.
- England/Wales/NI at £33,000 - all in the 20% basic band, take-home ~£26,000.
- Cross to the higher-rate band at £50,270 (England/Wales/NI) vs £43,663 (Scotland), and the gap widens to ~£1,500 net at higher salaries.
Use the main salary calculator to see your specific take-home across regions + tax years.
Sources + methodology
- Primary source: ONS - Employee earnings in the UK 2025 (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings) (data: April 2025, released October 2025). ASHE is the authoritative UK earnings survey - approximately 1% sample of PAYE jobs.
- Regional figures cross-checked against gov.scot ASHE 2024 (Scotland) and NISRA Employee Earnings NI 2024. UK total (all workers) reconciles within rounding to ONS's published £33,080.
- Methodology note: figures are workplace region (where employees work) not residence region (where they live). London commuters from the South East show up in London's median, not their home region. The ASHE Table 8 (place-of-residence) gives a slightly different picture - lower London median, higher Home Counties medians.
- Estimate only - not a guarantee of individual pay. Salary depends on occupation, experience, employer + sector. For occupation-by-region detail see ASHE Table 3 (region by SOC).