Rich by income
The HMRC figures put a £100,000 total individual income above the 95th percentile in 2023/24. That is an unusually high income within the taxpayer population. It does not describe the household’s accumulated assets or spending commitments.
Those are individual totals before tax. They include salary, self-employed profit, taxable pensions, rental profit, interest, dividends and other taxable income. They do not describe a household’s disposable income.
Why a high income may not feel rich
One earner supporting a family, two earners sharing bills, a renter and a mortgage-free owner can have very different monthly finances. Your income rank cannot infer those circumstances.
The timing of the income matters as well. Someone newly earning £100,000 may have little accumulated wealth. Someone retired on £35,000 may own a mortgage-free home and have substantial pension assets.
High income usually creates the capacity to become wealthy. It does not prove that wealth has already accumulated.
Rich by wealth
In Great Britain’s 2020–22 household survey, median total wealth was £293,700. The top 10% began at £1,200,500, including private pensions, property equity, financial assets and belongings after the relevant debts.
That makes £1 million an interesting case: a substantial household balance sheet, still below that dated top-10% threshold. It says little about how much cash is available this month. Look inside the millionaire label.
ONS · April 2020–March 2022. The survey’s accreditation was suspended from Round 8 in June 2025; treat these as historical, approximate benchmarks.
What about London?
£100,000 lies between the 80th and 90th percentiles of the 2025 London full-time pay series. It remains high pay in that comparison. The national and regional salary figures use a different population from the HMRC income thresholds above.
Change the region and watch the salary rank move. The comparison may change your perspective without telling you how you ought to feel.