Is £40,000 a Good Salary?
If you earn £40,000, you are paid more than about 63% of UK employee jobs (about 48% of full-time jobs pay more). The ONS median full-time salary is £39,039 (April 2025), so £40,000 is around the median.
After tax, £40,000 gives you £32,320/year or £2,693/month. See the full breakdown: £40,000 salary after tax.
Other Salary Thresholds
| Salary | % Earning More | Take Home/Month |
|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | 78% | £1,493 |
| £25,000 | 69% | £1,793 |
| £30,000 | 57% | £2,093 |
| £35,000 | 46% | £2,393 |
| £40,000 | 37% | £2,693 |
| £45,000 | 29% | £2,993 |
| £50,000 | 23% | £3,293 |
| £60,000 | 16% | £3,780 |
| £70,000 | 9.2% | £4,263 |
| £80,000 | 7% | £4,746 |
| £90,000 | 5.5% | £5,230 |
| £100,000 | 4.2% | £5,713 |
| £125,000 | 2.7% | £6,505 |
| £150,000 | 2.1% | £7,607 |
Up to £60,000: share of UK employee jobs paid more (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, April 2025, Table 6.7a; all jobs including part-time, interpolated between ONS's published percentiles). £70,000 to £125,000: share of UK income taxpayers with more total income (HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes, 2023-24, Table 3.1a). £150,000: HMRC's 2025/26 projection (Income Tax liabilities statistics, Table 2.5). Take-home uses 2026/27 income tax and National Insurance.
What It Means to Earn Over £40,000
If you earn more than £40,000 per year, you are in the top 37% of UK employee jobs by pay — paid more than about 63% of them (ONS, April 2025). This puts you around the UK median full-time salary of £39,039 (ONS, April 2025). At this level, you are earning enough for comfortable independent living in most of the UK, including potential homeownership. See mortgage affordability on £40,000.
UK Salary Distribution
The UK salary distribution is right-skewed, meaning a relatively small number of very high earners pull the average (mean) salary above the median. For full-time employees the ONS median is £39,039 (April 2025). This means that if you earn £40,000, you are doing better than the simple "average salary" figure might suggest. For your take home pay calculation, see £40,000 salary after tax.
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