The average UK salary is a tricky thing to work out. Obviously, you want to know exactly where your earning power puts you compared to the rest of the country and your friends. And because we're not very good at talking about money here, you've furtively Googled the question rather than asking them. That would feel a bit rude.

Despite it being a statistical impossibility, most people feel like they make below the average when it comes to their monthly pay packet. Even people on annual salaries between £80,000 and £100,000 reckon they're just about doing okay, it turns out – in summer 2022 the New Statesman polled high earners about how they felt they ranked against other Brits, and plopped themselves in the middle despite earning between twice and more than thrice the national median wage.

Which is strange, because a study by London School of Economics and two other European universities in 2020 found that, when it came to our job-specific salaries, we aren't so sure that the grass is greener elsewhere (despite evidence suggesting quite the opposite). It's this lack of both knowledge and optimism that keeps us locked into underpaid roles, and away from paths of career progression. The two studies may seem somewhat contradictory, but they make one thing clear: we could all do with some clarity.

We're going through a cost of living crisis, as you've definitely noticed by now. According to the OECD as of May 2023, inflation in the UK was running at 7.9%. Food price inflation on its own was at 18.4%, the highest in the G7. Any and all ways of wangling a few extra quid here and there are welcome, given even the last-ditch payday eve standbys now can't relied upon to save that much money. Et tu, spaghetti with ketchup?

So, it pays to get a better grasp of where you stand financially. Who knows, it could be the catalyst for that wallet-expanding pay-rise request or job move.

The average UK salary

There are a few ways to break the average UK salary down, and work out where your take-home places you. Each month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) surveys 9,000 businesses and collects the salaries of 12.8 million workers. The newest data the ONS has is from August 2022, and covers the period between April and June.

The UK's median salary is the one which has 50% of all salary values beneath it. The mean is the total of all salaries in the UK added up and divided by the number of all those salaries. You want to be wary of the mean, because it gets skewed by a few people at the top earning a gigantic wedge, so the median is much more useful.

For all workers in the UK, the median average salary is estimated to be £31,772. There are a few factors that can stretch and squeeze your take-home pay though.

Your age

As you'll probably already know, your twenties aren't generally the bit of your life when you're raking it in. The median salary for men between 22 and 29 was £26,856 in 2021, and for women £25,115. Earning power tends to peak in middle age, with the median weekly income hitting £704 between 40 and 47. It's a steady ski slope down toward retirement age from there: between 50 and 59, the median is £648 a week, and over 60 it's £575. At the rate the retirement age is going up we might need to break this down into the over-seventies, over-eighties and over-nineties soon.

Where you live

Part of the draw of London is its higher wages (it's that and Roti King, tbh) and the median weekly earning in the capital is a very healthy £728 per week, £117 per week higher than the median for the whole of the UK. At the other end of the scale, the North East has the lowest weekly median earnings, at £547.

Your gender

The House of Commons Library reported in April 2022 that median hourly pay for full-time employees was 7.9% lower for women than men in April 2021, but the true difference is much larger than that. Because more of the part-time workforce is made up of women, and part-time workers earn less per hour, the difference in median pay for all employees was 15.4% less for women.

How to ask for a raise

Easier said than done, obviously, but given how much literally everyone is struggling with the cost of living already it's worth pushing your boss to recognise what you're worth.

According to Charlotte Davies, Career Expert at LinkedIn, says that it's important to read the room when it comes to asking for a rise – has the business recently gone through a round of redundancies, for example, or emerged from a difficult financial period? – but that doesn't mean that you can't argue your case. "Know that if you’re meeting your objectives and helping the business, it’s still ok to put your point of view across while being sensitive to their current situation," she says. If they refuse to budge or if you judge it to be the wrong time, Charlotte advises asking for benefits beyond pay: "This could be agreeing on more flexible hours or working patterns which could potentially allow you to save on travel, food and other costs associated with being in the office."

Experts recommend doing a bit of research on comparable roles via GlassDoor, LinkedIn Salary and Totaljobs, and asking your HR department for the salary bands for your role. You could ask your mates what they're on too, if they do a similar job. The more numbers you have to hand during your meeting, the better.

And you should push for a face to face meeting if possible – it's a lot easier to say no to someone over Zoom – and run through how you're going to phrase what you say before you get there. You'll have to vibe it a bit depending on what your manager's like, but be friendly, be confident, don't talk yourself down. Pretend you're telling your boss why your mate should get a pay rise, and advocate for yourself as you would them. "Being confident in your skills and knowing what you bring to the table is essential to negotiating a higher salary – think of it as your time to shine," says Charlotte. "Talk about your recent achievements and what you are most proud of with friends, family, or other professional connections, to help you feel more prepared when the time comes to talk to your manager."

The other big thing you should do is join a union. It doesn't matter what industry you're in – they'll have your back, and can offer invaluable advice and knowledge about pay. Go here to check out whether your specific industry has a union. If so, you'll be at a huge advantage compared to trying to spring some money out of your managers on your own. Unions use the power of collective bargaining to make sure you're getting what you're due, and have the power to strike to get what they want. Even if it doesn't get that far, being part of a union is a very good way to find some clarity and transparency on comparable job roles within and without your company.

How to negotiate your salary up for a new job

When you get offered a new job, the temptation to blankly nod at your salary offer and shake someone's hand before they realise what they've done. But the same principles apply here.

You don't have to leap at the first number they offer you, despite how thrilling the whole thing might be. Thank them for the offer, then take a look around. Build a case, show your manager why it makes sense to hand you more money given the role and expertise you have, and try not to make it sound like you're telling them they can stick their £24,000 up their arses and you won't get out of bed for less than £45,000. Going nuclear and threatening to walk away isn't gonna help you here.

If they won't move, open up a chat about perks, holidays and bonuses. Smaller incentives are a lot easier to agree to, and shy bairns get nowt.

What are the best-paid jobs in the UK?

If you’re getting frustrated about your inability to amass enough cash to Scrooge McDuck it into a pile of coinage from a great height, then it’d be handy to know which job roles tend to have the highest salaries. Obviously, enjoying your job is a lot more use to you than retraining to make a wedge doing something you hate. But hitting the reset and leaping into something new could be the way forward.

According to the Office for National Statistics’ latest numbers from October 2022, the highest median salaries go to the helpfully vague category of chief execs and senior officials, who are touching £80,000 a year. Marketing, sales and advertising directors aren’t far off, and IT directors are generally clearing £70,000 too.

Just beneath them at around £68,000 a year are specialist medical practitioners – that’s doctors who’ve been in the profession long enough to have narrowed down their specialism to being a GP, or a cardiologist, or what have you – and at £66,000 are headteachers. Both of those professions are pretty time-intensive too, though, and the per-hour breakdown of your pay will be lower. Noble though. (Which also means you're expected to work way beyond your hours quite a lot.)

The rest of the £60,000-plus bracket includes PR and comms directors, financial managers, and aircraft pilots and air traffic controllers.