Americans have been left stunned after learning about what a ‘good’ salary is in the UK.
And it’s lead to a bit of a kick off between TikTok users of the two nations, as there’s a stark contrast in how each approach their living costs.
I mean, it’s already a given that there’s going to be differences, with us Brits having free healthcare on the NHS as well as other differing needs for spending money on.
But of course, the Americans love a chance to compare themselves to (and claim to be better than) us.
A TikToker who ‘reveals how people spend money’ was sent a ‘money chart’ by someone from the UK, dividing up their income and showing their outgoings.
The chart comes from someone who has an annual salary of £30,000.
Forbes previously put that as the average for the UK.
“This is a good salary in the UK?” limmy0705 exclaimed, pointing out that it works out at roughly $40,000 – saying people in the US would think of you as ‘broke’.
That £30,000 isn’t the Brit’s only income though, as they also earn £17,000 from a part-time job and another £14,400 as a landlord.
So, he ends up with a budget of £61,800, and the TikToker can’t believe he’s spending ‘more than half of your full-time income’ on rent at £18,000.
“People say over here that you’re doing a good job if you’re keeping the amount of money that you spend on rent less than 30 percent of your income,” he slams.
But as most people renting in many of UK’s cities will know, that’s not exactly an easy task.
British users in the comments were quick to say: “I’ll take my free health care, lower cost of living, free university and free prescriptions.”
And others said they don’t class £30,000 as a good salary but a ‘liveable’ one and just ‘average’.
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Forbes adds that the top 10 percent of Britons earn £59,200 or more per year – quite the jump from what the Americans are slamming us for.
Meanwhile, Demandsage found that the average annual income in the US is $61,984 (£42,6000).
And a survey published by GoBankingRates.com found that the largest proportion of American adults said they believe it’s possible to live comfortably earning between $75,000 (£56,000) and $100,000 (£75,000) in 2025. So, it’s pretty understandable why they’re so shocked at this person’s £30,000 salary.
But, everyone’s idea of ‘comfortable’ can be pretty different, not to mention the different costs we have. One did point out: “Brits don’t pay $12 (£9) for 6 eggs.”
“You get paid more so you can pay your medical bills lmao,” another hit.
Over on Reddit, one also wrote: "But also, the US is a more competitive place and less worker friendly than the UK, some of that higher pay reflects longer working days, less holidays, at-will employment, less leave with respect to bereavement, parenthood, and general higher expectations of work."