Indexed gross annual pay in London and England (2000/01 - 2023/24)
Last updated: December 2024
Next estimated updated: December 2025
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows how yearly pay for Londoners’ in employment has changed over time, adjusted for inflation. It shows gross pay - meaning before tax - and uses 2008 as baseline.
We can use it to see how yearly pay has changed for the average Londoner, as well as for higher earners (those at the 90th percentile) and lower earners (those at the 10th percentile). Further down the page, a chart shows how annual pay has changed in the last year, 5 years and 10 years for different income groups in London.
What does it tell us
Yearly pay for lower earners has increased - but still below 2008 levels
Over the last 10 years, annual pay for Londoners at the lower 10th percentile has increased by 15.4%. This group is also paid slightly more per year (4.1%) than they were at the start of the pandemic.
However, Londoners at the 10th percentile are still paid significantly less (9.4%) per year than they were in 2008. This is despite earning more per hour than in 2008, as shown by our hourly pay over time indicator.
Yearly pay for higher earners is less than in 2008
Londoners at the 90th percentile (those with incomes above 90% of other Londoners) are paid 8.1% less than they were in 2008.
Before the pandemic, their yearly earnings had almost reached 2008 levels. However, during the pandemic this group saw their yearly earnings drop by more than 5 percentage points. It is now at similar levels to the start of the pandemic. The 50th percentile (or median) dipped with the start of pandemic, recovered in 2021/22 and dipped again in 2022/23 and has remained almost the same since.
Yearly pay has increased the most for low-income Londoners in the last decade
Change in real annual gross pay by job pay percentile in London (2023/24)
This chart shows how Londoners in different income groups’ annual pay has changed in the last one, five and ten years. Comparing annual earnings between different time periods can give a clearer picture to annual pay growth or decline over time.
When looking at the change in annual earnings within the last year (in 2023/24 real terms) earnings stayed essentially the same for most percentiles. However, annual pay did increase slightly for the lowest earning group shown here (those at the 10th percentile) and decrease slightly, by 3%, for Londoners in the highest earning group shown here (those at the 90th percentile).
When looking at the longer term 10 year growth, the bottom percentiles fare better than the top job pay percentiles, with annual gross pay increasing 15.4% since 2013/14 in the bottom 10th percentile compared to more modest increases of 3.9% for the 50th percentile (median) and 3% for the 90th percentile.
Learn more about how Londoners' pay has changed over time.
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.