Pay inequality by London borough

Last updated: January 2026
Next update: December 2026

What does this indicator show?

Pay inequality is, simply, the gap between how much higher paid and lower paid people earn. There are many ways of measuring pay inequality.

This indicator considers the 80:20 hourly wage ratio, which shows how much greater hourly pay is for those at the 80th percentile of the hourly pay distribution than for those at the 20th percentile. The larger the ratio, the more unequal hourly pay.

This is useful to help us to understand which areas of London have the highest levels of inequality.

Which London boroughs have the most pay inequality?

Based on this measure, pay inequality is significantly higher in London than in England. In London, the 20% highest paid earn 2.5 times more per hour than the 20% lowest paid. In England, the figure is 1.5.

Richmond upon Thames, a borough traditionally seen as very affluent, has the highest levels of pay inequality. The 20% highest paid earn triple the amount of their neighbours in the 20% lowest paid group.

Boroughs with higher levels of poverty, particularly in East London such as Barking and Dagenham and Newham, tend to have lower levels of pay inequality.

Every London borough has a significantly higher level of pay inequality than the England average.

Are we becoming more equal?

The level of pay inequality has decreased since before the COVID-19 pandemic. In the rest of England, the 20% highest earners are paid 1.5x more than the 20% lowest earners - compared to 2.5x more in 2019.

In London the decrease has been much more modest - from 2.7x more to 2.5x more.

Pay inequality has decreased in every London borough where data are available, except Hackney, Wandsworth, Hammersmith & Fulham and Richmond upon Thames.

Want to know more?

If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to dig deeper.