South East England Median Salary

Resident earnings data for South East England, shown alongside regional house prices and rents for affordability context.

Last updated 5 Jul 2026HPI April 2026Rents May 2026Sold prices April 2026
Median resident annual pay
£42,390
Feb 2026-Apr 2026 / ASHE 2025
Median resident weekly pay
£815
Full-time employees
House price to income
8.9x earnings
Average price vs annual pay
Rent to income
40% of monthly earnings
Average rent vs monthly pay
Feb 2026-Apr 2026 / ASHE 2025

South East England wages and affordability

Resident earnings help explain how regional prices and rents compare with local pay.

Resident population
9,642,942
ONS 2024
Median resident annual pay
£42,390
South East England
Median resident weekly pay
£815
Full-time employees
Employment rate
78.2%
Aged 16-64
Unemployment rate
3.8%
Economically active
House price affordability8.9x earnings

Average house price compared with resident median annual pay.

Rent affordability40% of monthly earnings

Average monthly rent compared with estimated monthly earnings.

Labour market rates are from the ONS Annual Population Survey profile shown by Nomis. Where the local APS unemployment value is suppressed, the ONS model-based unemployment estimate is used. Earnings are ONS ASHE resident-analysis median full-time employee earnings. Annual pay is annualised from weekly pay for display context.

Wages and employment commentary · Last updated July 2026

South East England has a large resident base, with 9.6 million people in 2024. That scale matters because it gives the region a broad labour market and a wide mix of household incomes.