These London boroughs had the biggest wage hikes in the last decade

Inflation is inevitable, but high inflation is bad. Unless the thing that’s inflated is your wage, then it’s great. In short, it’s complicated – but, in general, we can probably agree that all of us simply want to be paid more. 

But which areas of London have seen the biggest pay rises in the past decade? To find out, accountants UHY Hacker Young tracked the areas of the UK with the biggest growth in pay since 2014 – and east London came out on top of 180 regions across the country.

The boroughs of Hackney and Newham saw the biggest growth in household income, followed by Tower Hamlets, Camden and the City, all of which saw household incomes increase by more than 50 percent on average. The national average was much lower, sitting at around 40 percent. 

Speaking with the Standard, Martin Jones of UHY Hacker Young credits young professionals with this increase, saying: ‘There’s been a huge increase in the levels of income in some up-and-coming areas in London. Areas that were seen as lower-income and unfashionable ten to 20 years ago have become hotspots for growing wealth.’

He cites the technology and finance sectors as areas of particular growth: ‘Many of these people will be working… in the City and its fringes – areas like Old Street and Shoreditch that are only short commutes away.’

So what are you complaining for? London is a place of wealth and prosperity (well, as long as you work 13-hour days in the City), and now we have the stats to prove it. If you were wondering how much you need to earn to be happy in London, we might have the answer to that, too. Fair warning, though: it’s probably more than you think. 

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