Average UK salary

[Just1moreq]

After reading the thread about the potential for teacher strikes, along side potential nurse strikes, and I had a look at the average UK salary.
Apparently that stands at £38,600..
With the part time average being £13,800

I just wondered if that is even slightly accurate..
I think it's above what most people earn.

So for voting purposes
I am being unreasonable == yep I think that's average

I am not being unreasonable == you think that's not average

It can be an average and above what the majority of people earn. In fact, it is likely above what over 50% of FT workers earn as the ultra-high earners will skew the average. I think what you need to look at is the median wage, not the average wage to see the true middle earner.

That, I think, is the mean average, which will be more than most people earn, because it is skewed upwards by a number of very high salaries.

According to the ONS, The median salary, which is a better way in many ways of looking at it, was £31,461 in 2020.

I find it very high when I think how many are on minimum wage. Is it the mean, median or mode? Does it only look at paye.

I suppose it depends on how the average has been calculated.
it “feels” about right to me. But then again, if I think about it, I know more people earning less than this than I do more.
is it mean or median? Include overtime? Bonuses &beneits?

Depends where you’ve got your figures from. That seems high to me.

Just a basic Google, it is the mean average salary

The median is £31,461

I think it very much depends where you live if you think it high or low. Where I live (London) I would say that’s a low income amongst my friendship group but if you asked my friends from the NW or Scotland they would say it’s high & that they earn less than that.

Its skewed by the ridiculous over inflated salaries at the top.

If that number is the mean, it could be unrepresentative because a relatively small number of very rich people can skew the figure. Example : A village has 100 residents. Their average (mean) income is £35k. A Premier League footballer moves to the village. He earns £5,000,000. The mean income is now £84k.
The median is much more representative. In the example above, the median wouldn’t change much because it would now be the salary of the 51st highest earner in the village, rather than the 50th.

(Hat tip to the excellent ‘More or Less’ for the example).