What makes this page different
This page is for region-level comparisons. Use it when you are thinking about relocation, broad labour-market choices or whether a higher-paying region actually leaves you better off after tax and commuting drag.
Why regional rankings are different from city rankings
Regional rankings are designed to answer a broader question: where does salary hold up best once commuting and recurring work costs are added at a regional level? That makes this page useful for relocation and strategy decisions, while the city pages are better for narrower place-to-place comparisons.
True Wage regional rankings: the best-paying region is not always the best real-pay region
Regional comparisons are useful because headline pay and real pay do not move together. A region can offer higher gross earnings yet still feel weaker after tax, commuting and recurring office spend. That is why true-wage comparisons should be built around usable income per real hour, not salary alone.
Regional comparison lens▼
| Region type | Main upside | Main drag on True Wage |
|---|---|---|
| London | Highest pay benchmark in the UK payrolled data | Travel time and office-linked cost drag can be severe |
| South East commuter belt | Access to higher-paying labour markets | Hybrid patterns can still feel like London-lite on costs |
| Scotland | Strong city labour markets and solid monthly pay benchmark | Different income tax bands change the net result |
| West Midlands / Greater Manchester / West Yorkshire | Often better headline affordability than London | Long commutes can erode the advantage |
| Remote-first national roles | Time efficiency and lower transport spend | Depends on whether remote work is stable and genuinely low-friction |
What official data tells you
The latest PAYE RTI bulletin puts median monthly pay for the UK at £2,588 and for London at £3,031. Scottish government reporting based on the same RTI source shows Scotland at £2,612. Those are useful benchmarks, but they still do not account for office frequency or commute drag.
Why tax settings matter for True Wage
Regional true-wage comparisons are not only about local salaries. They also need to reflect tax systems, especially when Scotland is in the mix. Two roles with similar gross pay can deliver different real hourly outcomes once tax and travel patterns are combined.
Best use of this page
Use regional rankings to narrow your options, then test them inside Salary Calculator, True Wage and Remote vs Office. A regional comparison is most useful when it helps you decide whether a move, hybrid policy or salary premium is actually worth it.
Regional ranking reference points
| Region | Median gross weekly pay | Median hourly pay |
|---|---|---|
| London | £958.2 | £25.40 |
| Scotland | £773.8 | £19.52 |
| North West | £734.2 | £19.05 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | £708.2 | £17.95 |
Regional pay does not include commute drag, office attendance or recurring work costs, so use these figures as a benchmark rather than a verdict.
| Primary source | How PayPrecise uses it | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Income Tax rates and allowances (2026 to 2027) | Used for Personal Allowance and main UK tax bands in calculator/editorial explanations. | View source |
| National Insurance rates and category letters | Used for NI examples and take-home calculations. | View source |
| ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings 2025 | Primary benchmark source for UK earnings, pay percentiles and regional comparisons cited across salary pages. | View source |
| ONS homeworking and commuting-time evidence | Used where pages discuss the time value of commuting and office-vs-remote comparisons. | View source |
| TfL Travel in London 2025 | Used for London travel-time context in commuting and city-comparison pages. | View source |
| Centre for Cities: Mapping the 30-minute city | Used for public-transport access comparisons between major UK cities. | View source |
| Nomis official labour market profiles | Used 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.