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What's a good salary in the UK 2024?

A

Admiral Benbow

Well-Known Member
Relationship to Diabetes
At risk of diabetes
As the title says. What is a good salary? I aim to relocate to the UK in 2026 and bring my Mrs and we want a studio flat at the minimum and can eat and save some money in an ISA, preferably 10K a year. What kind of salary should I aim for if I am the only one working? What is the minimum to survive in most places with good transportation where a car is not needed?
 
Admiral Benbow said:
As the title says. What is a good salary? I aim to relocate to the UK in 2026 and bring my Mrs and we want a studio flat at the minimum and can eat and save some money in an ISA, preferably 10K a year. What kind of salary should I aim for if I am the only one working? What is the minimum to survive in most places with good transportation where a car is not needed?
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It is going to depend on whether you want to rent or buy but a good start is to look at sites like Rightmove to get an idea of prices of properties, you are probably looking at city or town centres with good rail links but rail fares are expensive to use regularly.
What you would expect to get as a salary would depend on your qualifications and experience and what is your area of expertise.
Universities will advertise jobs on jobs.ac.uk
 
Leadinglights said:
you are probably looking at city or town centres with good rail links but rail fares are expensive to use regularly.
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For day to day travel buses are usually reasonable. But again, you'd be looking for a city rather than somewhere pleasantly rural. (Once upon a time buses were just about viable in many places, but they've been cut back so far that to have reasonable travel you need a city or big town.)

You can see current salary information here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentan...bulletins/annualsurveyofhoursandearnings/2024
 
I’d decide where you want to live then add up expected costs of rent, bills, spending, etc to figure out how much take home pay a month you’d need, then you can work out what advertised salary you’d need from that.
 
Generally, living in the North is cheaper than the South. People moan about the north/south divide, but I think the Northerners forget just how lucky we are to have cheap housing stock unless you intend to move to Harrogate or similar.
So as @Lucyr says, decide where you want to live first and take it from there.
 
Ok let's get a bit more specific. Let's say Leeds, York, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle. What would be the minimum for a decent shot at life.
 
Admiral Benbow said:
Ok let's get a bit more specific. Let's say Leeds, York, Birmingham, Manchester, Newcastle. What would be the minimum for a decent shot at life.
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Renting or buying? Near the city centre or happy further out?
 
What will you be doing as a job?
 
Depends if you’re both working. If it’s just one wage I’d say £70k ish.
 
Let's go with Leeds as it's a place I'm familiar with. There is a saturation of new build apartments from over the past 30 years. I've just taken a look and you could rent a 1 bed flat near the train station/city centre for as little as £800pcm or buy between £100 -150k and the monthly cost for that would depend on the interest on any mortgage you managed to secure. Obviously there are bigger and more expensive flats around!
We spend about £700 a month on food but I tend to buy locally which is a bit more expensive especially the greengrocer and butcher. However, we live in the north and have a fairly simple diet. Other towns may be more expensive.
Utilities are no longer cheap, you probably need to factor in a few hundred pounds a month, although a one bed flat shouldn't take much heating. We have a vast 1920s 4 bed home which absolutely guzzles the gas and electric despite having had the walls and ceiling insulated! You also have to pay water rates, I think ours is £130 pcm.
There is also the council tax which varies on the size and location of the property. You'd probably need to factor in at least £150 per month to cover that.
Our joint incomes (my workplace pension and part-time NHS job, and my partner's income) brings in around 40k and we have a comfortable life. However, we are into our 60s and already have all the stuff we need....in fact we moved 2 households into one so we have more than we need. If you need furniture etc you'll need more available cash!
There really is no exact science. As a single parent I brought up my son on a 45k salary back in the 90s/00s (probably close to 70k these days), but as I had not only a mortgage but creche fees to pay I was constantly struggling. Which is maybe why my standards are less exacting than others! Hope this garbled answer helps!
 
A lot of people seem to be commuting on electric bikes these days, but you do need your home and workplace to have a secure place for preventing their theft, which in some places is a whole industry of its own.
 
Admiral Benbow said:
As the title says. What is a good salary? I aim to relocate to the UK in 2026 and bring my Mrs and we want a studio flat at the minimum and can eat and save some money in an ISA, preferably 10K a year. What kind of salary should I aim for if I am the only one working? What is the minimum to survive in most places with good transportation where a car is not needed?
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A good article here on salaries.

How much money do you need to live comfortably in the UK?

How much money do you need to live comfortably in the UK? Compare average salaries and discover the ideal income for your household
www.raisin.co.uk www.raisin.co.uk
 
Ive been thinkinking arbout this particularly as I have comobities of cancer, af and type 2.

It also depends what you circumstances, do you have a pensions government and private and can you depend national health etc
 
Tom1982 said:
Depends if you’re both working. If it’s just one wage I’d say £70k ish.
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Isn’t that a lot, especially to live in a studio flat in the northern cities mentioned? I thought I live alright in a 1 bed flat but I earn less than that and live in the south where prices are much higher.
 
We live on 30k and one thing that's not been mentioned is health. We pay about 600 a month for health insurance.

We live in London and spend about 250 a month on food, services and run a car. We feel pretty comfortable with 2-3 holidays a year. Own a bungalow and retired and
 
Do you and your wife have residency entitlement in the UK otherwise there may be cost for medical care and savings guarantees and minimum income requirement if you need visas.
 
I imagine owning a bungalow significantly reduces your outgoings as you aren’t paying rent or mortgage
 
Ive been thinkinking arbout this particularly as I have comobities of cancer, af and type 2.

It also depends what you circumstances, do you have a pensions government and private and can you depend national health etc
 
Lucyr said:
Isn’t that a lot, especially to live in a studio flat in the northern cities mentioned? I thought I live alright in a 1 bed flat but I earn less than that and live in the south where prices are much higher.
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I think living costs can largely depend on the lifestyle one is accustomed to. Beyond the basics, the sky is the limit on how much one can spend.

Given today's cost of living, 70k isn't an unreasonable expectation. One could probably half that and still live well. Without a mortgage or dependents, much less still.
 
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