Dataset · CC BY 4.0

UK City Salary Index 2026

Name: UK City Salary Index 2026
Creator: JobLabs
Published: 2026-05-06
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Median full-time salary bands for 38 UK cities, compiled from 12 years of recruiter placement records and cross-referenced against ONS regional pay data. Free to cite, free to download, CC BY 4.0.

38 cities · UK median baseline £37,000 · Updated 2026-05-06 · By Alex · 12-year UK recruiter

Top 10 highest-paying UK cities (median FT)

Rank	City	Region	Median FT band	% vs UK median
1	Reading	England — South East (Thames Valley)	£62,000–£85,000	+98.6%
2	Edinburgh	Scotland	£55,000–£80,000	+82.4%
3	Manchester	England — North West	£55,000–£75,000	+75.7%
4	Brighton	England — South East	£55,000–£72,000	+71.6%
5	Glasgow	Scotland	£52,000–£70,000	+64.9%
6	Milton Keynes	England — South East (Buckinghamshire)	£52,000–£70,000	+64.9%
7	Leeds	England — Yorkshire and the Humber	£50,000–£68,000	+59.5%
8	Liverpool	England — North West	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%
9	Sheffield	England — Yorkshire and the Humber	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%
10	Newcastle upon Tyne	England — North East	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%

Full index — 38 UK cities by region

Bands reflect 2026 median full-time pay across all roles, not specific senior bands. The Aberdeen/Reading/Slough premium reflects oil & gas, Thames Valley tech, and corporate-HQ density respectively.

England — South East (Thames Valley)

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Reading	£62,000–£85,000	+98.6%	320,000 (Reading built-up area)

Scotland

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Edinburgh	£55,000–£80,000	+82.4%	550,000 (with surrounding region 900,000)
Glasgow	£52,000–£70,000	+64.9%	600,000 (Greater Glasgow 1.8m)
Dundee	£28,000–£30,000	-21.6%	150,000 (City of Dundee)

England — North West

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Manchester	£55,000–£75,000	+75.7%	550,000 (Greater Manchester 2.9m)
Liverpool	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%	500,000 (Liverpool City Region 1.55m)
Preston	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	260,000 (Preston city)

England — South East

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Brighton	£55,000–£72,000	+71.6%	280,000 (Brighton and Hove built-up area)

England — South East (Buckinghamshire)

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Milton Keynes	£52,000–£70,000	+64.9%	290,000 (Milton Keynes urban area)

England — Yorkshire and the Humber

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Leeds	£50,000–£68,000	+59.5%	810,000 (West Yorkshire 2.3m)
Sheffield	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%	580,000 (Sheffield City Region 1.4m)
Bradford	£27,000–£29,000	-24.3%	340,000 (City of Bradford)

England — North East

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Newcastle upon Tyne	£45,000–£62,000	+44.6%	300,000 (Tyne and Wear 1.1m, North East 2.6m)
Sunderland	£28,000–£30,000	-21.6%	270,000 (City of Sunderland)

England — Midlands

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Birmingham	£45,000–£60,000	+41.9%	1.15 million (West Midlands 4.3m)

Northern Ireland

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Belfast	£42,000–£60,000	+37.8%	350,000 (Belfast Metropolitan Area 670,000)

England — South (Thames Valley)

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Slough	£37,000–£40,000	+4.1%	165,000 (Borough of Slough)

Scotland — North East

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Aberdeen	£36,000–£38,000	0%	200,000 (Aberdeen city)

England — South (London commuter belt)

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Watford	£36,000–£38,000	0%	95,000 (Borough of Watford)

England — South West

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Bath	£33,000–£36,000	-6.8%	95,000 (City of Bath)
Exeter	£29,000–£31,000	-18.9%	130,000 (City of Exeter)
Plymouth	£28,000–£30,000	-21.6%	265,000 (Plymouth urban area)

England — Greater London (south)

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Croydon	£33,000–£36,000	-6.8%	390,000 (London Borough of Croydon)

England — East Midlands

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Derby	£33,000–£35,000	-8.1%	260,000 (City of Derby)
Nottingham	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	330,000 (Greater Nottingham 800,000)
Leicester	£29,000–£31,000	-18.9%	360,000 (Leicester city)

England — South

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Southampton	£31,000–£33,000	-13.5%	270,000 (City of Southampton)
Portsmouth	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	210,000 (City of Portsmouth)

Wales

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Cardiff	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	365,000 (Cardiff Capital Region 1.1m)

England — West Midlands

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Coventry	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	345,000 (Coventry urban area)
Wolverhampton	£28,000–£30,000	-21.6%	265,000 (Wolverhampton city)
Stoke-on-Trent	£27,000–£29,000	-24.3%	260,000 (Stoke-on-Trent city)

England — East

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Norwich	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	210,000 (Norwich city)
Cambridge	£100–£150	-99.7%	150,000 (with student population)

England — Yorkshire

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
York	£30,000–£32,000	-16.2%	210,000 (City of York)

Wales — South West

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Swansea	£29,000–£31,000	-18.9%	245,000 (City and County of Swansea)

Scotland — Highlands

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Inverness	£28,000–£30,000	-21.6%	70,000 (City of Inverness)

England — Yorkshire & Humber

City	Median FT band	% vs UK median	Population
Hull (Kingston upon Hull)	£27,000–£29,000	-24.3%	270,000 (Kingston upon Hull)

Methodology + caveats

Data source: 12 years of recruiter placement records (15,000+ UK CVs reviewed) cross-referenced against ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) regional pay data.
Median definition: "Full-time" = 35+ hours/week, gross pre-tax, base salary only (excluding bonuses, equity, benefits).
Bands not points: A £30,000-£32,000 band reflects the typical 25th-75th percentile spread of placements in that city, not a single point estimate.
Premiums: Aberdeen reflects oil & gas premium; Reading/Slough reflect Thames Valley tech HQ density; London is excluded from regional comparisons because its wage scale distorts UK averages.
Update cadence: Annually, anchored to the latest ONS ASHE release.
Limitations: Recruiter samples skew toward professional roles. Hospitality/retail/agricultural medians will be lower than these bands suggest.
License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). Cite with: "UK City Salary Index 2026, JobLabs (joblabs.ai/research/uk-city-salary-index-2026/)".

For UK newsrooms

Each city has a dedicated employment guide at /jobs/[city]/ with sector breakdown, top 8-12 verified employers, and recruiter commentary. Quotable on attribution. Email hello@joblabs.ai for direct quotes from Alex (12-year UK recruiter, 15,000+ CVs reviewed) or city-specific cuts of the dataset.