Purchasing Power Parity · United Kingdom
Cost of living in 🇬🇧 United Kingdom vs the United States
United Kingdom has a US-relative price level of 0.863 (US = 1.0) — about 14% cheaper than the United States. Reference year 2025.
What US salaries are worth in United Kingdom
| US income | Feels like (US-equivalent) | Cost of a US lifestyle |
|---|---|---|
| $50,000 | $57,937 | $43,150 |
| $80,000 | $92,700 | $69,040 |
| $120,000 | $139,050 | $103,560 |
| $180,000 | $208,575 | $155,340 |
| $250,000 | $289,687 | $215,750 |
“Feels like” = income ÷ price level; “cost of a US lifestyle” = income × price level. Try your own number in the interactive calculator.
How the sources compare
Each provider measures United Kingdom's price level slightly differently; a tight spread means high confidence.
Consensus (median) 0.863 2025
World Bank — GDP 0.849 2024
IMF (WEO) 0.846 2024
OECD 0.882 2025
Penn World Table 0.877 2023
World Bank — Consumption 0.873 2024
Big Mac Index 1.157 2026
Eurostat (observed prices) 0.865 2024
Cost of living around the world
Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). United Kingdom is outlined.
Cheaper → pricier · click a country to open its page
Countries with a similar cost of living
- 🇨🇦 Canada — price level 0.846
- 🇳🇴 Norway — price level 0.841
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand — price level 0.891
- 🇳🇱 Netherlands — price level 0.829
- 🇩🇰 Denmark — price level 0.899
Relocating for work? See the fair salary from the US to United Kingdom or use the Fair Pay Localizer.
Frequently asked questions
- How expensive is United Kingdom compared to the United States?
- United Kingdom has a price level of 0.863 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 14% cheaper than the United States), based on the median of World Bank, IMF, OECD and Penn World Table figures with reference year 2025.
- What is a $100,000 salary worth in United Kingdom?
- In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $115,875 of US-equivalent lifestyle in United Kingdom; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $86,300.
- Where does the United Kingdom cost-of-living data come from?
- Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median and refreshed at build time.