Australia
Latest Average Wage
−1.4% · 5 years
$72,018
Country Comparison
Australia vs United Kingdom
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Australia
vs
United Kingdom
$72,0182025
Latest Average Wage
Australia +8.6%
(vs United Kingdom)
$66,2992025
−1.4%2025
5-Year Wage Change
United Kingdom +2.6 pts
(vs Australia)
+1.2%2025
+2.2%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United Kingdom +1.0 pts
(vs Australia)
+3.3%2025
92.72024
Overall Price Level
Australia +8.4 index points
(vs United Kingdom)
84.32024
Wages are PPP-adjusted average annual wages; price levels use the United States reference of 100. Years shown are each country's latest reported observation.
How Wages Have Changed
Follow PPP-adjusted average annual wages in constant prices across both economies.
USD PPP, constant prices · missing years shown as gaps, never interpolated
United Kingdom
Latest Average Wage
+1.2% · 5 years
$66,299
Wage Milestones
Australia
10 Years Ago
$70,450 (2015)
Historical Peak
$73,870 (2021)
Latest Wage
$72,018 (2025)
United Kingdom
10 Years Ago
$64,199 (2015)
Historical Peak
$66,480 (2019)
Latest Wage
$66,299 (2025)
Compare Everyday Price Levels
See how eight consumer price categories compare with the United States reference value of 100.
United States = 100 · Differences shown in index points
Australia (AUS)United Kingdom (GBR)
Overall
+8.4 index points
100
92.7vs84.3
Food
+15.9 index points
100
101vs85.1
Clothing
−9.4 index points
100
69.5vs78.9
Housing
−3.6 index points
100
91.8vs95.4
Health
+14.8 index points
100
86.9vs72.1
Transport
−11.7 index points
100
99.3vs111
Recreation
+5.0 index points
100
95.2vs90.2
Restaurants & Accommodation
+27.8 index points
100
115vs87.2
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Australia's latest average wage is $72,018 for 2025, about 8.6% higher than United Kingdom's $66,299 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. In annual terms the gap comes to about $5,719 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Australia shows the stronger movement at +1.1%, against +0.7% for United Kingdom. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Australia at −1.4% and United Kingdom at +1.2% — so the latest year is not the whole story. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Restaurants & Accommodation shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 115 for Australia against 87.2 for United Kingdom. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 27.8 index points apart, Australia above United Kingdom. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: Australia reads 91.8 and United Kingdom 95.4 for 2024, just 3.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Recreation at 5.0 index points apart. A gap this small leaves the category effectively tied on the shared US=100 scale.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Australia's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $72,018 for 2025, moderately higher than United Kingdom's $66,299 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 8.6% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $5,719 a year on the same purchasing-power basis. Because both values already sit on the same USD PPP, constant-2025-price footing, the comparison adjusts for price-level differences between the two economies. For scale, neither series has moved by that much within any single reported year, so the gap is structural rather than the product of one unusual observation. Over ten years Australia recorded +2.2% and United Kingdom +3.3%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are moving in opposite directions — and the gap between them is narrowing as a result. Australia shows no single direction across horizons: +1.1% over one year against −1.4% over five. United Kingdom stands just below its historical high of $66,480 in 2019, only 0.3% away, with a ten-year change of +3.3%. Because United Kingdom — the lower of the two latest wage levels — is the side currently gaining in real terms (+1.2% over five years against −1.4%), the distance between the two is shrinking on these measures rather than growing. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
Australia's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 92.7, and United Kingdom's reads 84.3, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Neither country is uniformly higher: Australia leads in 5 of the 8 comparable categories and United Kingdom in 3, so the profile splits by category rather than by country. The widest separation is in Restaurants & Accommodation: 115 for Australia against 87.2 for United Kingdom, a gap of 27.8 index points. At the other end, Housing brings the two closest — 91.8 versus 95.4, a gap of just 3.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Australia reads above 100 in 2 of its 8 reported categories, and United Kingdom in 1 of its 8.
Wage and price data should not be combined into a verdict on which country is better to live in.
