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Is 50k gbp a great wage in London? Properly, there is no such thing as a simple reply! On this article, I’ll share how a lot it prices to stay in London lately and what you’ll be able to actually afford on 50k in London when it comes to way of life.
So… think about. You’ve been provided 50K gbp a yr. Will you have got a snug way of life in London on 50k? The reply is: relies upon. Whether or not you reside alone or have a household (and, after all, what wealthy means to you) – you should have a totally completely different stage of life in London.
Right here’s what you’ll be able to anticipate finding on this submit:
Which jobs pay 50K and extra in London?
There are many jobs that pay over 50K in London – as a consequence of the price of residing disaster, there was additionally a small improve in salaries within the final yr, therefore a number of the jobs, that had been beforehand paid worse, at the moment are paid at round 50k per yr.
I composed an enormous information to the typical salaries in London by occupation and years of expertise, so should you’re curious, be happy to test it out right here! (Common wage in London in 2023 by occupation)


Will you be effectively off on a 50k wage in London? Life-style you’ll be able to afford on 50k in London
In the event you’re questioning whether or not the 50K wage will make you effectively off in London, effectively, sadly not! London is an extremely costly metropolis. In actual fact, London is without doubt one of the most costly cities in Europe, and its property costs are among the many highest on the planet.
It doesn’t assist that a number of wealthy folks from all all over the world come to London to stay completely or make it their second residence. When you’re uncovered to the sort of locations these folks have a tendency to go to, you may get shocked! For the ultra-rich, it’s tremendous simple to spend your early wage in a day!
However anyway, let’s get again to the truth and discover the 50k yearly wage in London. How a lot is it monthly after taxes?
£50k a yr finally ends up (after paying all of the taxes and commonplace 3% pension contribution) being simply over £3,000 monthly. Which isn’t too dangerous in any respect! For another metropolis within the UK aside from London. Nonetheless, to know what sort of way of life you’ll be able to have on 50k wage in London, let’s have a look at 3 very completely different eventualities:
- You reside alone and don’t have any dependants
- You reside with a associate who additionally works full-time or part-time
- You’ve a toddler, and your associate is a keep at residence mum or dad
In fact, there are numerous extra eventualities (e.g. you have got 1-10 youngsters); you have got somebody who is determined by you and may’t work; you’re a single mum or dad, or your associate works and earns greater than you, nevertheless, I needed to particularly concentrate on these eventualities, as they’re most likely the commonest ones and gives you an understanding of what to anticipate from a life in London.


State of affairs 1: You’ve been provided 50K gbp in London, and you reside alone
Alright, let’s contemplate the primary situation. You’ve a wage of 50K gbp in London, and you reside alone.
You make £3,069 after paying all of the taxes and three% pension contribution.
You may undoubtedly afford a studio in a good space of London (verify my article about the most effective locations to stay in London for younger professionals) or a room with an en-suite in a way more central space. You may most likely afford a one-bedroom flat, however that may be round zones 4 and 5 and you’ll most likely find yourself spending fairly a bit on transport.
Yow will discover a pleasant studio for £1,300-£1,700 relying on the world and the scale of the studio. A room in a shared flat with an en-suite would price round £1,000-1250 relying on the placement. In fact, you can even discover less expensive rooms and studios should you actually need to get monetary savings.
Don’t neglect concerning the payments: electrical energy, gasoline, Web and council tax – on common, it will be additional £150-300 monthly (gasoline and electrical energy price rather a lot in winter).
Most jobs observe a hybrid mannequin, which implies that you gained’t must commute to the workplace day by day. On this case, you’ll most likely spend £100-130 on the underground. Nonetheless, should you’re fortunate sufficient to stay near the workplace, you may cycle and save fairly some huge cash each month.
In the event you work from the workplace, you’ll, most likely, eat your lunch outdoors. You may spend something from £120-250 a month on lunches.
Groceries can price you something from £150 to £400 monthly relying on what and the place you purchase. Some shops are costlier than the others (e.g. Waitrose, WholeFoods are fairly pricy).
Subscriptions (telephone, Netflix, Spotify and so on.) can price you an extra £50 monthly.
In any case these spendings, you’ll find your self with round £1200 in your pocket should you had been utilizing the decrease figures and simply £230 a month should you had been utilizing greater figures within the ranges offered – left for the rest: purchasing, going out, travelling, garments!
That reveals which you could’t have a bougie way of life on 50k wage in London – you’ll want to compromise on one thing, e.g. deliver lunches from residence, hire a room or a less expensive studio and purchase groceries in a less expensive grocery store. Nonetheless, fortunately, even on 50k, you’ll be able to nonetheless afford your individual place (even when it’s a studio).


State of affairs 2: You reside with a associate who additionally works and earns a wage
On this situation, you make £50K, and you reside with a associate who additionally works. Let’s think about your associate has a mean wage – round £40K per yr. That’s additional £2400 monthly after all of the taxes and contribution. So your mixed earnings is now over £5,4K.
On this case, you’ll be able to already afford a one-bedroom condominium in zones 2-3 for £2000-2200 in month together with payments (council tax, electrical energy, gasoline).
Your grocery invoice, nevertheless, will improve and so will your transport prices. Nonetheless, after paying all of the payments and bills, you each might be left with round £2.2K in your accounts (mixed) which you could spend on something you need like travelling, going out, purchasing or just saving cash.

State of affairs 3: You’re the solely breadwinner in a household with one child
Lastly, let’s contemplate a situation the place 50K is barely sufficient to scrape by. That’s within the case whenever you’re the one breadwinner in a household with 1 child and your associate being a stay-at-home mum or dad.
On this case, you’ll most likely hire a really fundamental 2-bedroom flat in zones 3 – 6 of London or in a commuter city. You may solely pay as much as £1400-1500 for hire (£1750 together with all of the payments). Nonetheless, your transport payments will improve because of the distance to the town centre until you’re employed close by – ensure to finances at the least £200 monthly on journey prices (until you make money working from home more often than not). In the event you add Web, telephone, Netflix and different subscriptions, that’s one other £70 a month.
Your meals invoice might be round £350-500 a month.
That’s already £2500 monthly, which leaves you with simply £500 to spend on different purchases (from garments to high school fees on your youngsters), going out, saving and travelling.
As you’ll be able to see, £50K in London is sadly barely sufficient to outlive in case your associate doesn’t work and takes care of the kid. On this case, should you can, attempt to discover a distant job that may permit you to stay in one other metropolis and pay means much less for renting a property and transport!
Another posts you may discover attention-grabbing:
We purchased our home (first-time patrons in London)
Is London price it? Execs and cons of life in London
Value of residing in London – how a lot do you’ll want to stay in London