Salary in Edinburgh · 2026
Is £40,000 a good salary in Edinburgh?
Is £40,000 a good salary in Edinburgh?
Nationally, £40,000 sits around the 52nd percentile of UK earners. But in Edinburgh what matters is what's left: after tax your take-home is about £2,693 a month, and living alone here costs roughly £1,900 — so it's a comfortable salary for living alone here, leaving about £793 a month.
Verified 12 August 2026
| In Edinburgh on £40,000 | |
|---|---|
| Take-home pay | £2,693/mo |
| Rent (one-bed) | −£1,250 |
| Bills, council tax, transport, food | −£650 |
| Left each month | £793 |
Rent alone would take about 46% of your take-home — well above the 30% advisers suggest. Sharing a place changes this picture significantly.
How it compares nationally
Across the whole UK, £40,000 is £961 above the median full-time salary of £39,039, placing you around the 52nd percentile. But the same salary feels very different depending on where you live — which is exactly why local cost matters as much as the headline number.