Average salary in the North East

With financial pressures at a high due to economic issues such as the increased energy costs and living crisis, we are all likely looking for ways to make our money go further, along with making sure we are earning enough money to cover our outgoings.

Not only is checking your salary more important than ever, but it also makes sense to compare your annual income to the average in your area to make sure you are being paid fairly and in alignment with other roles similar to your own.

Your job role alone will not solely dictate the annual salary you receive and aspects such as location, age and experience play a big part in your income. Understandably, the more experience you have and your age generally mean you can earn a higher salary, however, the location of your workplace can dramatically impact the annual income you can expect to receive. Salaries are usually aligned with the cost of living in a specific region — hence why the average London salary is considerably higher than the rest of the country.

In this article, we will be focussing on the average salaries in the North East of England, as well as exploring how it compares to the average UK salary, and what the highest paid professions are in areas of the UK. So, are you living in an area with a higher average salary?

According to data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), the median salary in the North East is £23,436. The region consists of four counties: Tyne and Wear; County Durham; Northumberland and part of North Yorkshire.

The mean salary in the North East is higher and stands at £27,224 annually. However, for the purpose of this article, we will be using the median average as it is more reliable for an overall view of the regions and it is not skewed by potential outliers in the data — these could be individuals who earn a disproportionately high salary in comparison to the rest of the population in the area.

The North East has the second-lowest median salary in the UK based on all the employee jobs. However, the following table provides a breakdown of the median salaries for part-time and full-time workers in North East England and the difference between male and female salaries.

Comparing these to the UK averages in the table below, the average salaries in the North East are lower in each division except for part-time male salaries. Furthermore, the average salary in the UK overall is £25,886 which again shows that it is more common for salaries to be lower in the North East.

What is the average salary in the UK?

As previously mentioned, the average median salary in the UK is £25,886. London takes the top spot for the highest average salary which is to be expected, particularly as those living in the area are subject to higher living expenses. The average salary in London is £35,000 which is also considerably higher than the London Living Wage (LLW), a campaign set to provide individuals with the means to live comfortably and above the poverty line. Full-time employees on the LLW would earn £21,547, therefore over £13,000 less than the average London salary.

The area of the UK with the lowest annual median salary is Northern Ireland with the average salary across all jobs being £23,289 — only £138 less than the North East.

What are the highest paying jobs in the North East?

The highest paying job in the North East is a lecturer, with an average annual salary of £78,618 — over £55,000 more than the average salary in the area. Lecturers are educators who deliver teaching to university students in specialist fields. They are trained to a higher level than a standard teacher and are considered experts in niche subjects. Not only do they need to have a thorough command of their subject, but they also require excellent communication skills to carry out their job.

Looking at the list as a whole, the IT industry has the highest paying jobs, with various data architect roles all landing in the top ten. The second-best paying job in the area was revealed to be an enterprise architect who is responsible for the maintenance and running of a company's IT network and assets, as well as implementing upgrades to the IT systems to keep them as effective as possible. Aside from the technology side of the roles, many IT architects are also responsible for managing teams and communicating with stakeholders, meaning they need specialist soft and hard skills to do their jobs to a high level. For this reason, it's little wonder the roles are well paid and desirable to employers.

What are the highest paying jobs in the UK?

According to Glassdoor, the highest paying jobs in the UK are predominantly those in top tier managerial roles, with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) ranking first. The role is the highest level of financial position within a company and deals with maintaining the finances within the business to keep it steady and align them with the company goals.

Whilst salaries will inevitably vary depending on the size of the company, level of experience, and location, the average median salary for a CFO is £124,410 which is almost £100,000 more than the UK average salary. The tenth job role on the list is a Quantitative Analyst which can command an average salary of £73,353, again, well above the average UK salary.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average earnings of male and female employees. It is measured across all jobs, rather than specific roles in industries. The gender pay gap has been declining steadily over time, however, we still have some way to go to close it.

The following table uses annual pay data from the Office of National Statistics to show the median annual salaries for males and females in full-time jobs and the calculated gender pay gap per region.

For the UK as a whole, the pay gap is 21.12% and the areas with the highest and lowest percentage pay gaps are the East Midlands and Northern Ireland respectively. The North East has the fifth-highest gender pay gap in the UK, with men being paid on average 19.71% more than females. This equates to women in full-time jobs being underpaid by just under £5,000 on average.