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Official ONS earnings · 109 occupations compared

London vs North East

Typical pay is about 30% higher in London, but that headline hides a lot: North East pays more for 13 of the 109 occupations measured in both.

London

£40,110

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
219
Highest paid
£123,796
Lowest paid
£5,711
Full London report

North East

£30,758

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
142
Highest paid
£72,472
Lowest paid
£10,408
Full North 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 London pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in London's favour.

£63,994 in London · £32,157 in North East

£85,735 in London · £49,877 in North East

£41,039 in London · £24,000 in North East

£123,796 in London · £72,472 in North East

Air travel assistants

+68.7%

£35,227 in London · £20,878 in North East

Project support officers

+61.2%

£39,898 in London · £24,743 in North East

£40,433 in London · £25,946 in North East

Business associate professionals n.e.c.

+55.3%

£42,303 in London · £27,231 in North East

Where North East pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in North East's favour.

£55,195 in North East · £45,373 in London

Elementary storage supervisors

+15%

£31,354 in North East · £26,643 in London

Early education and childcare practitioners

+12%

£21,371 in North East · £18,799 in London

Parking and civil enforcement occupations

+11.9%

£32,931 in North East · £29,013 in London

Research and development (R&D) managers

+9.9%

£60,883 in North East · £54,843 in London

Dental nurses

+7.6%

£22,225 in North East · £20,540 in London

£45,791 in North East · £43,084 in London

Medical and dental technicians

+5.7%

£32,774 in North East · £30,916 in London

Jobs that pay the same in both

Where location makes almost no difference to the median.

Occupation London North East Gap
Head teachers and principals £71,111 £71,526 -0.6%
Food, drink and tobacco process operatives £27,451 £27,669 -0.8%
Call and contact centre occupations £24,014 £24,293 -1.1%
Senior care workers £28,857 £28,456 +1.4%
Metal machining setters and setter-operators £33,123 £33,847 -2.1%

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