UK vs US: Cost of Living, Salary & Prices comparison [2022] (2023)

FAQs

Is cost of living higher in UK or USA? ›

According to cost-of-living comparisons, the cost of living in the UK compared to the US is broadly equal, with the UK being slightly less expensive by some measures. Consumer prices (including rent) in the United Kingdom are almost 8% lower than in the United States.

American households spent $7,317 on food, $9,826 on transport, $2,838 on housing-related expenses, $5,177 on healthcare and $2,912 on entertainment. In July 2022, the index for all goods, excluding food and energy, rose by 5.9%.

According to the Office for National Statistics, 91% of adults in Great Britain reported an increase in their cost of living in October-November 2022. The OBR expects real post-tax household income to fall by 4.3% in 2022-23, the biggest fall since comparable records began in 1956.

The average US salary is higher than the average salary in the UK. The discrepancy in salary rates comes from various factors, including the cost of living, healthcare systems and mandatory benefits. Salary rates also change based on gender, age and industry (or type of work).

What it boils down to. A big contributing factor to the difference in pay in the UK and the US boils down to British subsidised social benefits, specifically the NHS, our free healthcare system.

Above you'll see that Sioux Falls, SD is the big winner in 2022, with the best total score and the top ranking among all US cities. Reno, NV, Provo, UT, Madison, WI, and Huntsville, AL round out the top five.

In a 2021 modern wealth survey, Americans told Charles Schwab that they need an average net worth of $934,000 to be financially comfortable. Another survey by Personal Capital says that Americans believe that they need to save an average of $516,000 to maintain financial health.

Mississippi

Coming in as the cheapest state to live in in the United States is Mississippi with a cost of living index score of 83.3. It also has the lowest average housing costs in the nation at 33.7% below the national average. The median single family home costs around $140,818.

Average annual earnings for full-time employees in the UK 2022, by region. The average annual salary for full-time workers in London in 2022 was 41,866 British pounds a year, compared with 29,521 pounds for workers in North East England, which was the lowest in the United Kingdom in 2022.

According to the ONS, the average salary in the UK in 2022 for all employees was £27,756, a 6.8% increase from 2021. For full-time workers, the average UK salary in 2022 was £33,000 exactly, a 5.7% increase YoY. Part-time employees in the UK earned an average of £12,247 in 2022, which was an 8.6% increase from 2021.

What is the average UK income 2022? ›

Average weekly earnings were estimated at £611 for total pay, and £568 for regular pay in June 2022.

In the UK you have more job opportunities, higher salaries, and a wider range in earnings. In the US there are fewer jobs, the pay is not as high, and only a few people earn above $35000.

"It's pretty standard that for any job that you have," she continues, "you would make about 40 percent less in the UK versus what you would make in the US." She adds: "So for example, if you're making a certain amount in the UK and you decide to move to New York City, then you'll get an immediate 40 percent pay raise.

According to the ONS, in 2021 the average UK salary was £38,131 for a full-time role and £13,549 for a part-time role. This is a slight decrease from the average UK salary in 2020, which placed the average UK wage for a full-time role at £38,552 and part-time at £13,819.

An curved arrow pointing right. Grocery shopping in the US is more expensive than in the UK. One of the reasons for this is the relative lack of private-label goods in the US.

For instance, compared to American GDP per capita in 2019, the British economy won't reach the same level until 2037. So, on this measure, the UK is 18 years behind the US. There's an extensive economic literature as to why such a wide gap exists between America and the UK and other European countries.

Lake Side Park in Fort Wayne, Indiana, named the most affordable city to live in America. In its report, Niche also ranked the cheapest places to live in the U.S. At the top of the list was Fort Wayne, Indiana, which also took the top spot in three previous years: 2021, 2019 and 2018.

Its 2022 ranking for the best places to live looked at five metrics: job market, value, quality of life, desirability, and net migration. The best place to live in America is Huntsville, Alabama, followed by Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Median weekly earnings of full-time workers were $1,070 in the third quarter of 2022. Women had median weekly earnings of $971, or 83.4 percent of the $1,164 median for men.

What is considered a good salary in 2022? ›

A good monthly income in California is $3,886, based on what the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Californians pay for their cost of living. A good monthly income for you will depend on what your expenses are and how much you typically spend per month.

General living expenses

It's thought that a single person living in London will need around £1,500 per month to cover their living expenses and just over £1,200 in Manchester. However, with the pandemic pushing inflation to a 10-year high, the cost of general living expenses is rising sharply.

The top spot on our list goes to Raleigh, North Carolina. As one of the anchors of the Research Triangle, the city continues to attract young employees and major companies to plant roots in The Tar Heel State.

Massachusetts topped 2022's list, touting a score of 62.65 out of 100. New Jersey came in second, dropping from the top spot last year. New York, Idaho and Virginia fill out the rest of the top five states to live in, in that order.

Have you ever wondered about the average income in the UK? According to the Office for National Statistics, the median weekly pay for full-time employees in the UK was £611 in 2021. For some, that is more than enough.

The rate of annual pay growth for total pay was 6.0%, and the annual pay growth for regular pay was 5.4%, in June to August 2022; this is the strongest growth in regular pay seen outside of the pandemic period.

Average U.S. income in 2021: $97,962.

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 is basic salary UK? ›

Base salary is the compensation that the employee expects to earn in exchange for their work. This is specified in most employment contracts in the UK as an annual base salary. It can also be expressed as a monthly amount, but this is less common.

In 2022, low pay is defined as those earning below £9.85 per hour and high pay is defined as those earning more than £22.16.

COLA Increase

According to the Social Security Administration, the COLA is 5.9% for 2022 and will increase to 8.7% in 2023.

For 2022, the COLA increase was 5.9 percent. This means that if someone received Social Security benefits in 2021 of $10,000, they would've received $10,590 for their annual benefit in 2022. COLA is commonly used when companies are in the process of relocating.

Averaging those three figures produced the 5.9 percent COLA that went into effect in January 2022. Prior to that, the COLAs for the previous 10 years had averaged 1.7 percent, ranging from zero in 2015 to 3.6 percent in 2011.

According to the report, Bermuda is the world's most expensive place to live. Switzerland ranks second on the list, followed by Norway, Iceland, and Barbados. Thankfully, Australia ranked 14^th on the list, with an index of 77.75. Our rent index was significantly lower than Bermuda's 98.58, at just 36.84.

Hong Kong tops Mercer's 2022 Cost of Living City Ranking, based on our latest research, followed by Zurich and Geneva, while Ankara closes the ranking at the 227^th spot.

In 2022, all food prices are predicted to increase between 9.5 and 10.5 percent, food-at-home prices are predicted to increase between 11.0 and 12.0 percent, and food-away-from-home prices are predicted to increase between 7.0 and 8.0 percent.