Moving to United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, the median gross salary is €3,250 a month (2025), a single worker on the average wage keeps 76.9% of gross pay after income tax and employee contributions (2025) and unemployment is 4.7% (2025).
The United Kingdom had GDP per capita of US$53,341 and life expectancy of 81.4 years. There were 3.301 doctors per 1,000 people.
Can I move to the United Kingdom?
Across 199 passports, 7 passports enter visa-free, 78 passports need an ETA, 4 passports need an eVisa and 110 passports need a visa for United Kingdom. Check your passport below.
- Visa-free
- 7
- ETA
- 78
- eVisa
- 4
- Visa required
- 110
Choose citizenship and purpose to see the relevant entry steps.
Entry.
Living & working.
Official requirements [2] · Visitor-entry rules
Residence rules and exceptions
| Citizenship / situation | Starting point |
|---|---|
| Other citizenship | Check work, study or family requirements.[58] |
| Existing status or family rights | A passport alone cannot establish your eligibility. Check the relevant authority’s guidance. |
These are national starting points, not an eligibility decision. Long-stay residence, work authorisation and in-country application rules differ by route; a visa-free visit never settles them. Check the route that matches your purpose and circumstances with the responsible authority.
Visa and entry rules
Work-route occupation lists — the Immigration Salary List and the Temporary Shortage List — are explained with their sources on the work route page: what the UK Immigration Salary List is.
Sources checked through 28 Aug 2026.
Work and income
What is the unemployment rate in United Kingdom?
The national unemployment rate was about 4.7 % in 2025.
This is the World Bank / ILO modelled estimate series used as the canonical national answer. Other published definitions exist and are shown in the table below.
- National unemployment rate: 4.75 % · Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), 202544
What is the median gross salary in United Kingdom?
The median gross salary was about 3,250 EUR/month in 2025.
Half of employees earn less than this. Mean gross and national-accounts averages use different definitions and are shown in the table below.
What is the minimum wage in United Kingdom?
The statutory minimum wage is about 14.62 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2026-04). Source: UK Government43
National statutory floor, gross, before tax and social contributions.
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median gross salary, monthly | 3,250 EUR/month | 30 Apr 2025 | Office for National Statistics — ASHE Table 7.1a, 2025 provisional30Official · national figure |
| National unemployment rate | 4.75 % | 31 Dec 2025 | Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), 202544Official · national figure |
| Minimum gross hourly wage | 14.62 EUR/hour | 27 Aug 2026 | UK Government43Official · national figure |
Typical city (median): about 3.4%
Unemployment rate (%)
Typical city (median): about 6.5 µg/m³
Annual PM2.5 (µg/m³)
Typical city (median): about 9,646 incidents per 100,000 residents
Recorded incidents per 100,000 residents
Public employment service in United Kingdom
Official job-search, registration, counselling and training routes. Private recruitment agencies are not included.
Jobcentre Plus — Public employment service
A national service does not prove that an office exists in every city. City pages show an office only after an exact address is linked to that city. Sources checked through 10 Aug 2026.
Taxes in United Kingdom
National rates and comparable published scenarios. Personal tax depends on income, household and residence circumstances.
Benefits newcomers may qualify for in United Kingdom
Public schemes where an official source defines an eligible migration or residence status. Amounts and conditions are kept in their native terms.
| Programme | Published amount | Source and application |
|---|---|---|
Asylum support under sections 95/98/4 — Arrival and reception support | 9.95 GBP / Weekly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsCatered-accommodation asylum-support cash rate: GBP 9.95 per person per week. GOV.UK states that an asylum seeker who would otherwise be destitute may receive accommodation and cash support while the asylum-support claim is handled; the page also covers people refused asylum who remain eligible for support. | ||
Child Benefit — Family and child support | 17.9 GBP / Weekly | |
Eligibility and amount details£27.05 per week for the eldest or only child; £17.90 per week for each additional child. GOV.UK states that Child Benefit eligibility for migrants is subject to the published right-to-reside and immigration-control rules, including the listed family-member cases for an EEA or Swiss national with a right to reside. | ||
New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance — Unemployment support | 75.65 GBP / Weekly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsNew Style Jobseeker's Allowance personal allowance: GBP 75.65 per week for claimants aged 16 to 24; GBP 95.55 per week for claimants aged 25 or over. The official GOV.UK New Style Jobseeker’s Allowance eligibility section states: ‘worked as an employee’, ‘paid Class 1 National Insurance contributions, usually in the last 2 to 3 years’, and ‘be in Great Britain’. This is the bounded profile of a worker with the source-defined Class 1 National Insurance contribution record in Great Britain; the age, availability, hours-worked and claimant-commitment conditions also apply. | ||
Universal Credit — Minimum-income support | 338.58 GBP / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsUniversal Credit standard allowance per month: GBP 338.58 for a single claimant under 25; GBP 424.90 for a single claimant aged 25 or over; GBP 528.34 for joint claimants both under 25; GBP 666.97 for joint claimants where one or both are 25 or over. Child and disability additions are separate rows in the official table. DWP's current ADM Chapter C1: Universal Credit — International Issues, paragraph C1280 ‘Persons with specific rights to reside’, lists among the people who do not have to demonstrate habitual residence for Universal Credit: ‘a refugee’ and ‘a person who has humanitarian protection granted under the immigration rules’. The same paragraph sits within the Universal Credit entitlement rules; the other claim conditions still apply. | ||
Universal Credit housing costs element — Housing support | Amount set per household by formula / Monthly | |
Eligibility and amount detailsThe housing amount varies by Broad Rental Market Area and bedroom category; the official 2026 to 2027 LHA tables provide the applicable local monthly rates. No national single amount is claimed. DWP ADM Chapter C1: Universal Credit — International Issues, paragraph C1280 under ‘Persons with specific rights to reside’, lists ‘a refugee’ and ‘a person who has humanitarian protection granted under the immigration rules’ among people who do not have to demonstrate habitual residence for Universal Credit. The GOV.UK housing-costs page states that an eligible Universal Credit claimant can get an extra amount towards housing costs. These are the two bounded public profiles for the Universal Credit housing costs element, subject to the remaining Universal Credit, tenancy, rent and accommodation conditions. | ||
ImmigrationDB shows published rules; it does not decide personal eligibility. Confirm your status, contribution record and household circumstances with the responsible authority before applying. Sources checked through 12 Aug 2026.
Can migrants receive medical care in United Kingdom?
Yes — migrants can receive medical care in United Kingdom under the published coverage rules.
Language courses and integration in United Kingdom
Government programmes, public integration services and exact provider records. The section expands only from fields present in the source; missing prices, refunds or contacts are not replaced with estimates.
Private and nonprofit providers
These records come from the provider's own website. They are useful leads, but are not counted as government-verified or complete.
Provider-supplied record · supplemental The London School of English — Holland Park
15 Holland Park Gardens, Kensington, London W14 8DZ
+44 (0)20 7605 4123
Open provider websiteLiving and moving context for United Kingdom
Average gross salary was €4,442 per month in 2025, while national median net income was €2,270 per month in 2023.
United Kingdom cities by population
The largest published cities appear first. Population is taken from the reusable official city layer; hub labels come from the existing city taxonomy.
Rank United Kingdom's cities by what a salary leaves each month
All published cities in United Kingdom (2,005)
60 of 2,005 shownSearch all cities
Reports with this country
Accepted report pages with a row for this country.
What different occupation groups earn in United Kingdom
Mean gross monthly earnings by occupation major group, from ILO ILOSTAT, converted to EUR at the annual-average exchange rate recorded with each row.
| Occupation group | Earnings | Period |
|---|---|---|
| Armed forces occupations | ≈ 5,810 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Managers | ≈ 5,341 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Professionals | ≈ 4,518 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Technicians and associate professionals | ≈ 3,697 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Clerical support workers | ≈ 2,661 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Service and sales workers | ≈ 2,280 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Skilled agricultural, forestry and fishery workers | ≈ 2,511 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Craft and related trades workers | ≈ 3,471 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Plant and machine operators, and assemblers | ≈ 3,189 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
| Elementary occupations | ≈ 1,755 EUR/month (gross) | 2025 |
Source: ILO (ILOSTAT mean earnings by occupation (EAR_EMTA_SEX_OCU_CUR_NB)) · observed 2025 · checked 2026-07-30.
Method and sources for these figures
Mean gross monthly earnings in EUR from ILO ILOSTAT (EAR_EMTA_SEX_OCU_CUR_NB); employees; converted from the local currency at the annual-average exchange rate recorded with each row; ISCO-08 major groups (some series ISCO-88).
ILO — ILOSTAT mean earnings by occupation (EAR_EMTA_SEX_OCU_CUR_NB)
An occupation major group (ISCO or national equivalent) is not a job title: each figure is the average across all occupations in the group, so it is never a salary "for" one profession. Rows from different surveys, periods or statistics are shown as separate rows and are never merged or ranked against each other.
Profession pages for United Kingdom: Nurse · Physician · Teacher · Engineer · Architect · Software developer · Accountant · Childcare worker · Electrician · Plumber.
United Kingdom facts
Current source-backed observations, grouped the way the city pages are, with geographic scope and observation periods.
Population and profile
How many people live in United Kingdom?
The published population was 69,281,000 people in 2024. Source: World Bank49
National, resident population scope. Foreign-resident and migration-background figures are separate metrics in the table below.
How many foreign residents live in United Kingdom?
The foreign-resident population was 6,013,000 people in 2020-07/2021-06. Source: Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality: July 2020 to June 2021 (individual country data, data tables)35
Residents without United Kingdom citizenship. The migration-background population is a broader measure and appears in the table below.
Legal, tax and other context
| Metric | Value | Period | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rent deposit can be paid in instalments | 0 | 9 Oct 2026 | Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes37Official · national figure |
| Typical rent deposit | 2 months | 19 Jun 2025 | Private residential tenancy: information for tenants38Official · national figure |
| Typical rent deposit | 1 months | 9 Oct 2026 | Check if your landlord has to protect your deposit57Supplemental estimate · Supplemental context · national figure |
| Public healthcare access for foreign residents | Yes | 3 Aug 2026 | www.gov.uk55Official · national figure |
| Area | 243,610 km² | 31 Dec 2023 | World Bank50Official · national figure |
| Gross-to-net pay for a sample household | single person no children — 55,983 gross → 43,027 net a year (2025, national currency) | 31 Dec 2025 | Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition41Official · country household scenario |
| Population by year | 66,978,000 people (2021) | 1 Jul 2021 | Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL)36Official · country annual series |
| Doctors per 1,000 residents | 3.3 per 1,000 | Not stated | Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators34Official · national figure |
| Household electricity price | 0.22 EUR/kWh | 31 Dec 2020 | Eurostat7Official · national figure |
| Employer social contribution rate | 15 % | 3 Aug 2026 | HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK)13Official · national figure |
| People employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing | 276,100 people | 2019 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in mining and quarrying | 104,500 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in manufacturing | 2,887,900 people | 2019 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning | 175,750 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in water supply, sewerage and waste management | 242,750 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in construction | 2,257,100 people | 2019 | ec.europa.eu5Official · national figure |
| People employed in wholesale and retail trade; motor vehicle and motorcycle repair | 3,599,000 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in transportation and storage | 1,619,500 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in accommodation and food services | 1,699,000 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in information and communication | 1,687,000 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in finance and insurance | 1,475,000 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in real estate | 410,250 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in professional, scientific and technical services | 2,988,750 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
| People employed in administrative and support services | 1,446,250 people | 2023 | sdmx.oecd.org39Official · national figure |
School for children who move here. School is compulsory from age 5 to 16, and public school is free.
Sources: legislation.gov.uk · 1996–2026.
Working as… in United Kingdom
Open a profession for its available regulation, recognition and work-route evidence.
Regions of United Kingdom
Each region's page lists its published cities with population, rent, salary, unemployment and air quality.
Common questions
Answered from the published values on this page, each with its source and date.
What is the unemployment rate in United Kingdom?
The national unemployment rate was about 4.7 % in 2025. Source: Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), 2025.
How many people live in United Kingdom?
The published population was 69,281,000 people in 2024. Source: World Bank.
What is the median gross salary in United Kingdom?
The median gross salary was about 3,250 EUR/month in 2025. Source: Office for National Statistics — ASHE Table 7.1a, 2025 provisional.
What is the minimum wage in United Kingdom?
The statutory minimum wage is about 14.62 EUR/hour, gross (as of 2026-04). Source: UK Government.
Cite this page
Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.
APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, October 25). Moving to United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs [ImmigrationDB compilation; version fbd9f5cd1d6c86cec7e3038fb19b3d25]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/countries/united-kingdom/ Retrieved 2026-10-25. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_moving-to-united-kingdom-population-rent-salary-jobs_acbb75daa2be,
author = {ImmigrationDB},
title = {Moving to United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs},
publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
year = {2026},
date = {2026-10-25},
version = {fbd9f5cd1d6c86cec7e3038fb19b3d25},
url = {https://immigrationdb.com/countries/united-kingdom/},
note = {Retrieved 2026-10-25. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}Markdown citation
[Moving to United Kingdom: population, rent, salary, jobs](https://immigrationdb.com/countries/united-kingdom/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; version fbd9f5cd1d6c86cec7e3038fb19b3d25; retrieved 2026-10-25; built 2026-10-25.This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.
Sources
Every number above comes from one of these records. Open the original source for its geographic scope and publication date.
- Annual domestic energy price statistics — Table 2.3.4 Annual domestic energy price statistics · assets.publishing.service.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-20
- Average annual wages stats.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-26
- Census-based statistics UK: 2021 — UK07 Religion by sex by age Census-based statistics UK: 2021 · ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-07-30
- Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), England and Wales dwi.gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- ec.europa.eu ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-12
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-07
- Eurostat ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-08-03
- Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis — Usual weekly hours of work of full-time employees (sex total, 15-64, employees, main job) Eurostat lfsta_ewhuis · ec.europa.eu · checked 2026-09-18
Show 48 more sources
- GDP per capita (current US$), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Globalization and World Cities (GaWC), Loughborough University gawc.lboro.ac.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- HM Revenue & Customs (GOV.UK) gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/GB/indicator/SH.MED.BEDS.ZS?format=json&per_page=100 api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/GB/indicator/SH.MED.PHYS.ZS?format=json&per_page=100 api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-13
- ILOSTAT — Average monthly earnings of employees by sex, occupation and currency (annual) ILOSTAT · rplumber.ilo.org · checked 2026-07-30
- Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker — GOV.UK Immigration Rules Appendix Skilled Worker · gov.uk · checked 2026-10-07
- Letting fees: guidance for tenants gov.wales · checked 2026-10-09
- Life expectancy at birth, total (years), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- MIPEX mirovni-institut.si · checked 2026-08-03
- National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage rates gov.uk · checked 2026-09-17
- OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-03
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-07
- OECD Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- OECD Income Distribution Database: median equivalised disposable household income sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-26
- Office for National Statistics — ASHE Table 7.1a, 2025 provisional Office for National Statistics · ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-07-29
- ONS Homicide in England and Wales, Appendix Table 1 (Homicide Index) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-05
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-05
- Physicians (per 1,000 people), World Development Indicators api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-14
- Population of the UK by country of birth and nationality: July 2020 to June 2021 (individual country data, data tables) ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-18
- Population, total (SP.POP.TOTL) api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-07-29
- Private residential tenancy model agreement: easy read notes gov.scot · checked 2026-10-09
- Private residential tenancy: information for tenants gov.scot · checked 2026-10-09
- sdmx.oecd.org sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-08-12
- Skilled Worker visa: How much it costs gov.uk · checked 2026-10-09
- Taxing Wages 2026 — labour taxation decomposition Taxing Wages 2026 · sdmx.oecd.org · checked 2026-07-29
- UK constituent-country official homicide statistics, year ending March 2023 ons.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-20
- UK Government gov.uk · checked 2026-08-27
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (modeled ILO estimate), 2025 api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-11
- United Kingdom — compulsory education age range United Kingdom · legislation.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-20
- United Kingdom — public school free United Kingdom · legislation.gov.uk · checked 2026-09-20
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- WHO GHO RS_196/RS_198 ghoapi.azureedge.net · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-02
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank Open Data api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-08-07
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- World Bank SP.POP.TOTL api.worldbank.org · checked 2026-09-05
- www.gov.uk gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- www.gov.uk gov.uk · checked 2026-08-03
- Check if your landlord has to protect your deposit citizensadvice.org.uk · checked 2026-10-09
- GOV.UK — visas and immigration
The national entry point for UK visa and immigration routes. National guidance; check the route and your own circumstances before acting.