United States
Latest Average Wage
+2.1% · 5 years
$86,977
Country Comparison
United States vs United Kingdom
Compare average wages, long-term wage changes and eight consumer price categories using OECD data.
At a Glance
United States
vs
United Kingdom
$86,9772025
Latest Average Wage
United States +31.2%
(vs United Kingdom)
$66,2992025
+2.1%2025
5-Year Wage Change
United States +1.0 pts
(vs United Kingdom)
+1.2%2025
+13.0%2025
10-Year Wage Change
United States +9.7 pts
(vs United Kingdom)
+3.3%2025
1002024
Overall Price Level
United States +15.7 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
United States
10 Years Ago
$76,999 (2015)
Historical Peak
$86,977 (2025)
Latest Wage
$86,977 (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
United States (USA)United Kingdom (GBR)
Overall
+15.7 index points
100
100vs84.3
Food
+14.9 index points
100
100vs85.1
Clothing
+21.1 index points
100
100vs78.9
Housing
+4.6 index points
100
100vs95.4
Health
+27.9 index points
100
100vs72.1
Transport
−11.0 index points
100
100vs111
Recreation
+9.8 index points
100
100vs90.2
Restaurants & Accommodation
+12.8 index points
100
100vs87.2
What Stands Out
01
Latest Wage Gap
United States' latest average wage is $86,977 for 2025, about 31.2% higher than United Kingdom's $66,299 for 2025 — a relative difference calculated from the two reported values. That is roughly $20,678 a year on the same PPP basis.
02
Stronger Recent Trend
On the latest one-year change, United States shows the stronger movement at +1.7%, against +0.7% for United Kingdom. The five-year horizon keeps the same ordering: +2.1% against +1.2%. Both percentages are real, PPP-adjusted changes from the reported wage series.
03
Largest Price Gap
Health shows the widest price gap of the comparable categories in 2024: 100 for United States against 72.1 for United Kingdom. Measured on the US=100 scale, the two readings for this category are 27.9 index points apart, United States above United Kingdom. Index points are not percentages; the two scales answer different questions.
04
Closest Price Category
The closest category is Housing: United States reads 100 and United Kingdom 95.4 for 2024, just 4.6 index points apart on the US=100 scale. The next closest is Recreation at 9.8 index points apart. Closeness here describes the index readings only, not the baskets behind them.
Understanding the Comparison
Wage Position
Few pairings separate this cleanly — United States' latest average wage of $86,977 for 2025 stands well above United Kingdom's $66,299 for 2025. The higher figure exceeds the lower one by 31.2% in relative terms — a percentage calculated from the two reported values — or roughly $20,678 a year. Both figures are expressed in USD PPP at constant 2025 prices, so they can be set side by side without any further conversion. 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.
Wage Direction
The five-year direction is shared here: both series rise, with different momentum on each side. United States sits at the highest point of its series — $86,977 in 2025 is also the historical peak, with a ten-year change of +13.0%. 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%. The shared direction still leaves room for different speeds: +2.1% for United States against +1.2% for United Kingdom, so the distance between the two levels keeps shifting. All changes here are measured in real, PPP-adjusted terms, so they describe purchasing-power movement rather than nominal pay increases.
Price Profile
United States' overall consumer price level for 2024 reads 100, and United Kingdom's reads 84.3, each measured against the United States reference of 100. United States reads higher in 7 of the 8 comparable categories, so the price profile leans consistently to one side. The widest separation is in Health: 100 for United States against 72.1 for United Kingdom, a gap of 27.9 index points. At the other end, Housing brings the two closest — 100 versus 95.4, a gap of just 4.6 index points. Relative to the US benchmark, United States reads above 100 in 0 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.
