Question 1

What income is considered rich in the United Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

Using individual pre-tax income (HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes, tax year 2023 to 2024), £67,400 puts you in the top 10% of UK taxpayers. £93,600 reaches the top 5%, and £207,000 puts you in the top 1%. These are gross individual incomes — what you earn before income tax and National Insurance.

Question 2

Is £45,000 a good salary in the United Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

An individual pre-tax income of £45,000 sits between the 70th and 80th percentile of UK taxpayers (the 70th is £40,800, the 80th is £49,900). It is well above the national median of £29,700 — meaning you earn more than roughly three out of four people who pay income tax in the UK.

Question 3

What is the median individual income in the United Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

The median individual pre-tax income in the UK is £29,700 per year (HMRC SPI, tax year 2023 to 2024). Half of UK taxpayers earn more than this, half earn less. The mean is £41,700 — about 40% higher because top earners pull the average up.

Question 4

Who is included in these figures?

Accepted Answer

The HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes covers individuals with at least some Income Tax liability — about 36.7 million people in the 2023-24 tax year. People earning below the personal allowance threshold (£12,570 for most) are not included, so these percentiles describe the working/earning population, not every UK adult.

Question 5

Why are these UK numbers per-individual when other European pages use household figures?

Accepted Answer

HMRC publishes UK income statistics on a per-person, pre-tax basis (Income Tax is assessed individually in the UK, unlike many EU countries with household-based taxation). Eurostat for the EU and OECD for some countries publish equivalised household figures. They are different concepts and not directly comparable — a UK household with two earners on £30,000 each shows up here as two median individuals, but as one well-above-median household in the European framework.

Am I rich in the United Kingdom?

Income distribution in the United Kingdom

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What the numbers actually say