Ireland
Latest Average Wage
−2.8% · 5 years
$70,113
Country Comparison
Ireland vs United Kingdom
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
Ireland
vs
United Kingdom
$70,1132025
Latest Average Wage
Ireland +5.8%
(vs United Kingdom)
$66,2992025
−2.8%2025
5-Year Wage Change
United Kingdom +4.0 pts
(vs Ireland)
+1.2%2025
+4.6%2025
10-Year Wage Change
Ireland +1.3 pts
(vs United Kingdom)
+3.3%2025
92.22024
Overall Price Level
Ireland +7.9 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
Ireland
10 Years Ago
$67,039 (2015)
Historical Peak
$72,356 (2021)
Latest Wage
$70,113 (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
Ireland (IRL)United Kingdom (GBR)
Overall
+7.9 index points
100
92.2vs84.3
Food
+13.0 index points
100
98.1vs85.1
Clothing
+9.8 index points
100
88.7vs78.9
Housing
+8.6 index points
100
104vs95.4
Health
+12.3 index points
100
84.4vs72.1
Transport
+3.0 index points
100
114vs111
Recreation
+1.8 index points
100
92vs90.2
Restaurants & Accommodation
+17.8 index points
100
105vs87.2
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
Ireland's latest average wage is $70,113 for 2025, about 5.8% 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 $3,814 on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, Ireland shows the stronger movement at +1.8%, against +0.7% for United Kingdom. The five-year horizon reverses the ordering — Ireland at −2.8% 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: 105 for Ireland against 87.2 for United Kingdom. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 17.8 index points apart, Ireland above United Kingdom. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Recreation: Ireland reads 92 and United Kingdom 90.2 for 2024, just 1.8 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Transport at 3.0 index points apart. Two readings this close mean the category sits at nearly the same point of the US=100 scale for both.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Ireland's latest PPP-adjusted average wage is $70,113 for 2025, moderately higher than United Kingdom's $66,299 for 2025. In relative terms the gap is 5.8% — calculated from the two reported values — equivalent to about $3,814 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. Over ten years Ireland recorded +4.6% and United Kingdom +3.3%, so the two series have been moving in the same long-term direction. The wage milestones above show how each side arrived at its current level, year by year.
Wage Direction
The two wage series are moving in opposite directions — and the gap between them is narrowing as a result. Ireland is partway through a recovery: the latest year added +1.8%, though the level remains 3.1% below its peak. 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 −2.8%), 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
Ireland's overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 92.2, and United Kingdom's reads 84.3, each measured against the United States reference of 100. Ireland reads higher in 8 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Restaurants & Accommodation: 105 for Ireland against 87.2 for United Kingdom, a gap of 17.8 index points. At the other end, Recreation brings the two closest — 92 versus 90.2, a gap of just 1.8 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, Ireland reads above 100 in 3 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.
