Is the average graduate salary enough to live on in London?

Prices are rising and costs for everything from rent to gas and electricity are going up. Like many people students and graduates are being hit hard.

The average graduate salary in the UK in 2022 is £24,291, this is a 5% decrease from 2021 (£25,466). 

Research by careers platform Bright Network and Sky News showed that unversity graduates expect a starting salary above £30,000, considerably more than the average salary on offer.

According to research on the Minimum Income Standard (MIS), a single person with no children living in London would need to earn £35,286 (£508.18 per week) to cover what would be considered a basic standard of living. 

The research, funded by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, is used to calculate the UK living wage and the calculations are based on what the public think you need for a minimum acceptable standard of living. 

This includes food, clothes, shelter and what you need in order to “have the opportunity to, and choices necessary, to participate in society”. 

There is clearly a gap between the salary needed to live in the capital and the graduate salaries on offer.

Due to the increase of living costs and the financial challenges graduates face, some are advising students to avoid London all together.