London tops UK wages league

The London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has the highest average weekly wages in the country.

14:00 05 March 2005

Residents of the London Borough of Kensington and Chelsea are the country's highest average weekly earners, a new survey claims.

Average earnings in the borough are 1,252, more than four times the 302 average for workers in Berwick-upon-Tweed, the lowest ranked local authority in England.

The Halifax study found that almost all the 50 local authorities with the highest-average earnings are in southern England, with 15 in London, 21 in the south east 10 in the east of England. Just three of the top 50 boroughs were in the Midlands and Macclesfield, Cheshire, where the gross weekly wage was 733, was the sole representative of the North West.

Among the fifty local authorities with the lowest incomes, more than half were in the North East, North West and Wales.

"Earnings are highest in London and the south east while the lowest earnings are in the north of England and the south west," Tim Crawford, Halifax group economist, said.

However, the mortgage lender pointed out that lower wage packets reflected the smaller cost of living.

"While there are clear areas of below-average earnings, the cost of living in these places is often lower. In fact, housing affordability was 30 per cent better in the lowest-paid areas relative to the highest-paid areas," Mr Crawford added.