Salary in London · 2026
Is £40,000 a good salary in London?
Is £40,000 a good salary in London?
Nationally, £40,000 sits around the 52nd percentile of UK earners. But in London what matters is what's left: after tax your take-home is about £2,693 a month, and living alone here costs roughly £2,665 — so it just about covers living alone here, but it's tight, leaving about £28 a month.
Verified 12 August 2026
| In London on £40,000 | |
|---|---|
| Take-home pay | £2,693/mo |
| Rent (one-bed) | −£1,850 |
| Bills, council tax, transport, food | −£815 |
| Left each month | £28 |
Rent alone would take about 69% 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.