The headline comparison
As a total individual income, £40,000 is above the £29,700 taxpayer median in HMRC’s 2023/24 data. As full-time salary, it also exceeds the £37,430 median in the 2024 provisional ONS series. Keep those source periods in view.
In the 2024 age tables, £40,000 is above the £31,200 median for 22–29-year-olds and below the £42,154 median for 40–49-year-olds. These are separate groups of employee jobs, not a prediction of how your salary should progress.
Hours, travel, pension terms and job security affect an offer’s value. The latest ONS 2025 headline full-time annual median is £39,039, which is separate from the historical 2024 detailed percentile series used here. A historical rank alone cannot establish whether a current offer is competitive.
See the definitions and data limitations. Figures compare with the stated source years and are not inflation-adjusted forecasts.