Purchasing Power Parity · United Kingdom
Cost of living in 🇬🇧 United Kingdom vs the United States
United Kingdom has a US-relative price level of 0.881 (US = 1.0) — about 12% 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 | $56,754 | $44,050 |
| $80,000 | $90,806 | $70,480 |
| $120,000 | $136,209 | $105,720 |
| $180,000 | $204,313 | $158,580 |
| $250,000 | $283,768 | $220,250 |
“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.
Cost of living around the world
Every country shaded by its price level relative to the US (darker = more expensive). United Kingdom is outlined.
Countries with a similar cost of living
- 🇳🇴 Norway — price level 0.878
- 🇳🇿 New Zealand — price level 0.863
- 🇭🇹 Haiti — price level 0.86
- 🇦🇺 Australia — price level 0.91
- 🇫🇮 Finland — price level 0.852
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 0.881 relative to the US baseline of 1.0 (about 12% cheaper than the United States), based on the median of independent votes from the World Bank/IMF (one vote — both use the official exchange rate), the Eurostat-OECD PPP programme and the Penn World Table, reference year 2025.
- What is a $100,000 salary worth in United Kingdom?
- In purchasing-power terms, $100,000 stretches to about $113,507 of US-equivalent lifestyle in United Kingdom; conversely, sustaining a $100,000 US lifestyle there costs about $88,100.
- Where does the United Kingdom cost-of-living data come from?
- Real price-level figures from the World Bank, IMF World Economic Outlook, OECD, Eurostat and Penn World Table, blended as a per-country median of independent votes and refreshed at build time.