UK middle earners 'struggle' to make ends meet despite £60k salaries (2024)

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UK middle earners 'struggle' to make ends meet despite £60k salaries? ›

UK middle classes 'struggling despite incomes of up to £60,000 a year' Britain's insecure jobs market and high housing costs are leading to the growth of a precarious middle class struggling to maintain a decent living standard on household incomes as high as £60,000 a year, a report has said.

Earning a 60k salary in the UK can generally be considered a good income that allows for a comfortable lifestyle. It provides the means to cover living costs, including housing, utilities, transportation, and leisure activities. Additionally, it allows for saving towards long-term goals and financial security.

A study published by the abrdn Financial Fairness Trust said that people near the middle of the UK's income distribution (which can range between £29,000 and £65,000 - or €34,000 and €76,000 - depending on the type of household) are facing a range of pressures on their finances.

I believe anything from £38k to £50k to be good to very good salaries. Anything from £60k to £80k to be excellent. Beyond that you are in the small percentage of the country who are lucky.

Average monthly pay of employees in the UK 2014-2024, by percentile. In June 2024, the top one percent of earners in the United Kingdom received an average pay of 15,650 British pounds per month, compared with the bottom 10 percent of earners who earned 788 pounds a month.

In the UK, the threshold for the top 10% of personal income before tax is £59,200, according to the HMRC's latest statistics. This is over twice the median wage, which is generally under £30,000. But the top 10% incorporates a wide range of incomes.

A £40,000 salary in the UK is an excellent income for a single person who has no major expenditures. A 40K a year may be considered a bit below average for some, but it doesn't necessarily indicate that it isn't enough for living expenses.

What salary is the middle class in the UK? The average salary in the UK for middle-class (2022) was £26,800 per annum. However, these figures can vary widely depending on geographic region. For instance, while £35,000 was considered the minimum in the North, £60,000 was the minimum for London.

A family of four needs to earn at least $106,903 a year to cover their necessities in most U.S. states, a recent SmartAsset study reveals. The findings are based on cost estimates for housing, child care, transportation, health care, taxes and other common expenses, as tracked by the MIT Living Wage calculator.

Why do jobs in America pay so much more than in Britain? ›

Professor Alex Bryson of UCL — a leading expert in employment studies — suggests that the top quarter of US workers are able to take more advantage of market-set wages. “Workers have high bargaining power because of their skill set — and incentive-based pay is much more common,” he says.

A household in a metropolitan area with a higher-than-average cost of living, or one with more than three people, needs more than $56,600 to be included in the middle-income tier. Households in less expensive areas or with fewer than three people need less than $56,600 to be considered middle income.

Moving into 2024 here's how it stands:

The median income was £565 per week or £29,380 per year. Anyone making more than that per year (and this is net, not gross) is in the top 50% of earners in the UK. The top 5% earn £7,251 per month or more. That's shockingly only £87,012 per year.

You need to earn nearly £100,000 per year in order to be considered rich, a survey claims... but to be 'comfortable' you need just over the average wage in the UK. Earning £96,000 is the magic amount that would make the average person feel wealthy, according to a study carried out by recruiter Indeed.

Is 100k in savings a lot in the UK? Yes, it is. The worry is that while 100k might be safe in a savings account, it won't earn a lot of interest – not as much as it might if you were to invest it. Inflation could significantly lower your money's real spending power when held in a savings account over time.

Over one-third of American families earn $100,000 or more

The U.S. Census Bureau found that 37.1% of U.S. households earned at least $100,000 in 2022. Here's a more detailed breakdown of six-figure income brackets and the percentage of households in each one: $100,000 to $149,999: 16.9%

$60,000 is the 75th percentile. Salaries above this are outliers. $70,000 is the 90th percentile.

A household in a metropolitan area with a higher-than-average cost of living, or one with more than three people, needs more than $56,600 to be included in the middle-income tier. Households in less expensive areas or with fewer than three people need less than $56,600 to be considered middle income.

If your salary is £60,000, then after tax and national insurance you will be left with £43,850. This means that after tax you will take home £3,654 every month, or £843 per week, £168.60 per day, and your hourly rate will be £28.85 if you're working 40 hours/week.