Cost of Living in the UK vs. The US ─ How Do They Compare?

One of the trends we can see these days is the increased migration between the United Kingdom and the United States. These two countries, whose histories are so closely intermixed have their population moving from one to another for the last decades, and this trend has increased significantly recently.

There are numerous reasons for these migrations, but the most important one we want to point out is the language. The English language is something that unites these two countries, alongside Canada and Australia. So, nobody can say that these migrations are surprising. In fact, this is the reason why they are so common these days.

Of course, going from one to another country has a set of requirements, and there are several ways to achieve something like this. One of the clearest examples is US citizens applying for a UK sponsorship license. Today, we want to compare the cost of living in these two countries to make it easier for anyone interested in moving from one to another much easier.

General Costs of Living

Comparing the costs of living in these two countries is a pretty hard task, for several reasons. The first one is that these costs tend to change frequently. At the same time, it is necessary to take a look at different regions within the country if we want to be specific when it comes to living costs in these countries.

However, there it is possible to come up with several conclusions when you do make that comparison. One of them says that living costs are around 0.5% cheaper than in the US when it comes to some elements of living costs. On the other hand, different areas are almost 7% costlier, which is not a small difference.

Of course, if we would compare the states themselves with the United Kingdom, we would see that the UK would be the second poorest state if it were to be a part of the US. Only Mississippi would be less wealthy. However, this is not something you should take for granted, especially when it comes to living costs.

Purchasing Houses

When we’re discussing housing, it needs to be said that purchasing a home in the US has become significantly more affordable in the last couple of years. Also, you need to pay attention to another thing, houses in the US are much bigger than those in the UK, for no other reason that the architecture.

But when you see the costs, you will see that the prices are not different. So, the only thing you can base your decision upon is the fact that in the US you can get a much bigger house for the same money. There are numerous reports out there that can confirm this claim of ours.

Another thing that can be of significant help is that requirements for taking a loan in the United States are much more flexible than in the United Kingdom. Still, we need to see the future reforms that will be implemented in Great Britain, especially after it has left the European Union a couple of years ago.

Comparing Salaries

Deciding on whether to move to a certain country or not is usually based on the economic standard, don’t you agree? Since this is the case, we can see that many people are interested in understanding the differences in the economy of these two countries. In the United Kingdom, an average salary is around 26k pounds sterling.

Meanwhile, in the United States, the salary is around $53k, which amounts to 38k pound sterling. At the first sight, we can see agree that the economic standard is higher in America. However, making this sort of decision shouldn’t be made before you take a look at some interesting details, like the costs of groceries.

Plus, it is important to have an insight into the average salary in the industry individual has found its place. For example, the average salary of doctors in the US is much higher than in the UK, but it is not certain whether they can afford more things than those who are living in Great Britain. All these things should be measured carefully before making a decision.

Food

Food is a significant category to have an insight into when discussing the costs of living in a certain country. On average, US citizens spend around 10% of their salaries on groceries, while in the United Kingdom this percentage is somewhat higher, and it can reach up to 20% in certain parts of the country.

If you are someone who has a habit of going out to restaurants frequently, then you would need to know the prices pretty precisely, right? On average, you would spend $80 in a restaurant in America, while on the other hand, the average lunch for two in the UK is around $40.

Taxes

Finally, we want to address the question of taxes in these two countries. The biggest difference between these two cases is that people in the UK usually do not file their taxes every year. When you know that the situation in the US is that taxes are filled on an annual level, you will see that this is a big difference.

In the UK, the situation is widely different, since the government has a system where it calculates every individual’s tax throughout the year, and then provides the report. Also, we can see that in the UK, there is a personal allowance system, which points out a couple of tax-free earnings in the country. We can draw a parallel with US standard deduction in the US.

Instead of the tax being paid on a yearly level, we can see that the taxes are dedicated immediately after the paycheck arrives. Therefore, taxpayers do not need to pay attention to this issue as much as in the United States. Some would say that this is a big advantage credited to the United Kingdom.

In Conclusion

Calculating the cost of living is not an easy task since it involves so many different elements you need to include in the mix. Here, we’ve provided you with a couple of the most important ones you should pay attention to in the UK and the US.