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Official ONS earnings · 172 occupations compared

East of England vs South East

Typical pay is about 4% higher in South East, but that headline hides a lot: East of England pays more for 70 of the 172 occupations measured in both.

East of England

£33,543

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
209
Highest paid
£83,444
Lowest paid
£9,512
Full East of England report

South East

£34,801

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
237
Highest paid
£95,391
Lowest paid
£3,432
Full South East report
ONS doesn't publish a single average wage per region, so the figures above are the midpoint of each region's published occupation medians. They describe the spread of jobs measured, not the average worker — a region with more high-paying occupations will look higher even if individual jobs pay the same.

Where East of England pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in East of England's favour.

Retail cashiers and check-out operators

+48.2%

£15,892 in East of England · £10,726 in South East

£53,607 in East of England · £37,639 in South East

Vehicle body builders and repairers

+39.7%

£44,643 in East of England · £31,946 in South East

£62,752 in East of England · £49,265 in South East

Biochemists and biomedical scientists

+26.7%

£54,211 in East of England · £42,777 in South East

Other health professionals n.e.c.

+24%

£39,570 in East of England · £31,903 in South East

Process operatives n.e.c.

+22.4%

£32,392 in East of England · £26,457 in South East

Electronics engineers

+21.9%

£58,657 in East of England · £48,108 in South East

Where South East pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in South East's favour.

Other nursing professionals

+46%

£38,804 in South East · £20,972 in East of England

IT project managers

+32.2%

£60,219 in South East · £40,818 in East of England

Metal making and treating process operatives

+29.2%

£38,818 in South East · £27,467 in East of England

£46,945 in South East · £33,382 in East of England

Health and safety managers and officers

+24.3%

£51,581 in South East · £39,035 in East of England

£67,902 in South East · £52,272 in East of England

CAD, drawing and architectural technicians

+22.9%

£39,290 in South East · £30,304 in East of England

Mobile machine drivers and operatives n.e.c.

+21.7%

£36,967 in South East · £28,947 in East of England

Jobs that pay the same in both

Where location makes almost no difference to the median.

Occupation East of England South East Gap
Transport and distribution clerks and assistants £34,475 £34,360 +0.3%
Vehicle technicians, mechanics and electricians £37,763 £37,904 -0.4%
Natural and social science professionals n.e.c. £44,993 £44,778 +0.5%
Social workers £40,836 £41,026 -0.5%
Specialist medical practitioners £79,305 £78,811 +0.6%

Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, 2025 provisional), Table 15. Comparison covers the 172 four-digit SOC 2020 occupations with a published median in both regions. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.