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Official ONS earnings · 144 occupations compared

East of England vs South West

Typical pay is about 4% higher in East of England, but that headline hides a lot: South West pays more for 53 of the 144 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 West

£32,163

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
195
Highest paid
£74,712
Lowest paid
£4,111
Full South West 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.

£62,752 in East of England · £41,418 in South West

Environmental health professionals

+38.9%

£44,879 in East of England · £32,301 in South West

Vehicle body builders and repairers

+35.3%

£44,643 in East of England · £32,992 in South West

Natural and social science professionals n.e.c.

+33.7%

£44,993 in East of England · £33,642 in South West

Welding trades

+33.2%

£38,814 in East of England · £29,134 in South West

Quality control and planning engineers

+31.9%

£48,510 in East of England · £36,790 in South West

Electronics engineers

+26.7%

£58,657 in East of England · £46,312 in South West

£50,490 in East of England · £40,583 in South West

Where South West pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in South West's favour.

Other nursing professionals

+42.5%

£36,503 in South West · £20,972 in East of England

£73,291 in South West · £50,328 in East of England

Bakers and flour confectioners

+28%

£28,618 in South West · £20,594 in East of England

£40,846 in South West · £29,558 in East of England

£43,701 in South West · £33,543 in East of England

£66,327 in South West · £52,272 in East of England

Mobile machine drivers and operatives n.e.c.

+19.3%

£35,857 in South West · £28,947 in East of England

Assemblers and routine operatives n.e.c.

+16.3%

£29,792 in South West · £24,926 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 West Gap
Receptionists £17,488 £17,482 0%
Butchers £28,738 £28,761 -0.1%
Youth and community workers £24,699 £24,657 +0.2%
Housing officers £32,342 £32,234 +0.3%
Chefs £24,083 £24,183 -0.4%

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 144 four-digit SOC 2020 occupations with a published median in both regions. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.