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Official ONS earnings · 142 occupations compared

London vs Yorkshire and The Humber

Typical pay is about 26% higher in London, but that headline hides a lot: Yorkshire and The Humber pays more for 15 of the 142 occupations measured in both.

London

£40,110

typical occupation median

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

Yorkshire and The Humber

£31,735

typical occupation median

Occupations measured
190
Highest paid
£87,240
Lowest paid
£4,311
Full Yorkshire and The Humber 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.

Financial managers and directors

+111.1%

£107,433 in London · £50,891 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Actuaries, economists and statisticians

+90.3%

£66,364 in London · £34,867 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Newspaper and periodical journalists and reporters

+88.5%

£51,548 in London · £27,340 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Legal secretaries

+74.9%

£34,459 in London · £19,704 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Functional managers and directors n.e.c.

+74.7%

£85,735 in London · £49,069 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Business associate professionals n.e.c.

+68%

£42,303 in London · £25,183 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Production managers and directors in manufacturing

+63%

£76,710 in London · £47,050 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Programmers and software development professionals

+59.4%

£74,284 in London · £46,594 in Yorkshire and The Humber

Where Yorkshire and The Humber pays more

Biggest proportional gaps in Yorkshire and The Humber's favour.

Elementary storage supervisors

+22.5%

£34,379 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £26,643 in London

Retail cashiers and check-out operators

+16.3%

£17,362 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £14,524 in London

Bricklayers

+16.2%

£29,135 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £24,404 in London

Generalist medical practitioners

+14.8%

£61,026 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £51,973 in London

Head teachers and principals

+13.6%

£82,282 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £71,111 in London

Dental nurses

+11%

£23,075 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £20,540 in London

Metal machining setters and setter-operators

+9.2%

£36,476 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £33,123 in London

Electrical and electronic trades n.e.c.

+8.3%

£56,587 in Yorkshire and The Humber · £51,916 in London

Jobs that pay the same in both

Where location makes almost no difference to the median.

Occupation London Yorkshire and The Humber Gap
Rail construction and maintenance operatives £43,505 £43,525 -0%
Physiotherapists £38,173 £38,288 -0.3%
Specialist medical practitioners £86,528 £87,240 -0.8%
Care workers and home carers £20,635 £21,001 -1.7%
Parking and civil enforcement occupations £29,013 £28,466 +1.9%

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