Household incomes by region

Median household disposable income in the UK was £486 per week in the three years 2014/15 to 2016/17, before considering housing costs. After deducting housing costs, then median household disposable income was £417 per week.

Disposable income includes earnings from employment, state support, private pensions, investments and other sources, minus money paid in direct taxes. Income figures are ‘equivalised’, meaning they are adjusted for the number of adults and children in the household. The median is the point at which half of people have higher income and half have lower income.

Incomes before housing costs

Median weekly income before housing costs (BHC) was highest in the South East (£544) and London (£536) in 2014/15 to 2016/17. Median income was lowest in Northern Ireland (£439) and Wales (£440).

Median weekly household income by region, before housing costs: 2014/15 to 2016/17

Incomes after housing costs

After deducting housing costs (AHC), median income was highest in the South East (£466) and was lowest in Wales (£384) and the North East (£387).

Although median income BHC in London is higher than the UK average, based on income AHC it is similar to the rest of the UK. Median income BHC in Scotland is similar to the rest of the UK, but based on income AHC Scotland is above the UK average.

Median weekly household income by region, after housing costs: 2014/15 to 2016/17

The full briefing provides further information on what income means in this context, looks at the long term trend in average income by region and explains what data are available below the regional level. The data tables show the trend in median incomes for each country and region of the UK from the mid-1990s onwards.