London vs Edinburgh True Wage

True Wage
One of the only UK salary calculators that shows real hourly pay after commute + costs.
Calculator
2025/26 uses main employee NI rate 8%.
Scotland uses different income tax bands.
Choose how you’re paid.
£
Gross pay before tax/NI.
Used for hourly + True Wage time.
Set to 46–48 if you want to exclude holidays.
%
Optional: percent of salary.
Salary sacrifice pension If on, pension reduces taxable pay and NI (simplified).
Assumptions ▼
  • Standard personal allowance + taper above £100k (simplified).
  • Does not include student loans, benefits-in-kind, child benefit tax charge, etc.
  • NI in 2023/24 changed mid-year; we model a split-year weekly estimate (illustrative).
Illustrative estimate only Results are indicative. Check payslips or payroll information for final deductions.

London vs Edinburgh True Wage

London and Edinburgh can look closer than expected once you move from salary headlines to net-pay and commute-aware comparisons. Edinburgh adds another layer because Scottish income tax can shift the result before travel costs are even counted.

Run True Wage calculator Salary after commuting Real hourly wage

Headline comparison table

MetricLondonComparator
Median pay benchmarkUK full-time weekly pay £766.6Scotland weekly pay £773.8
Hourly pay benchmark£25.40£19.52
Transport accessibility benchmark22% reach centre in 30 minutes57.2% reach main hub in 30 minutes
Income tax systemRest-of-UK bandsScottish income tax bands
Both columns now use weekly pay benchmarks for cleaner comparison. Regional and city measures still describe different labour markets, so use them as context rather than as a like-for-like payroll quote.

How to use this comparison

Start with gross salary, then adjust for tax system, realistic commute time, office days per week and recurring spend linked to showing up. That sequence is much closer to how a role feels in real life.

Typical pattern: London needs a strong premium or low-friction hybrid policy to stay clearly ahead. Edinburgh becomes more competitive when accessibility is good and office attendance is moderate, but the Scottish tax path still needs to be modelled carefully.

Related pages

London, Manchester, Leeds, Edinburgh, city rankings.

Why compare London with Edinburgh?▼
Because the gross salary gap is only part of the story. Scottish income tax, travel friction and recurring office costs can change the real gap materially.
What makes London harder to justify?▼
The city offers higher pay, but travel time and office-linked costs can be materially heavier.

Reference points used here come from ONS, ONS/Nomis, TfL and Centre for Cities data used across the wider true-wage pages.

Sources, methodology and data quality
We cite primary UK data sources so you can verify the figures used on this page.
Updated March 2026
Primary sourceHow PayPrecise uses itLink
Income Tax rates and allowances (2025 to 2026)Used for Personal Allowance and main UK tax bands in calculator/editorial explanations.View source
National Insurance rates and category lettersUsed for NI examples and take-home calculations.View source
ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025Primary benchmark source for UK earnings, pay percentiles and regional comparisons cited across salary pages.View source
ONS homeworking and commuting-time evidenceUsed where pages discuss the time value of commuting and office-vs-remote comparisons.View source
TfL Travel in London 2025Used for London travel-time context in commuting and city-comparison pages.View source
Centre for Cities: Mapping the 30-minute cityUsed for public-transport access comparisons between major UK cities.View source
Nomis official labour market profilesUsed for regional earnings context and local labour-market cross-checks.View source

City comparison pages combine official earnings benchmarks with transport-access or travel-time context. They should be read as evidence-led editorial guidance rather than a substitute for a personal tax calculation.

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