America leads the way in pricing.

[Cyclone 10]

You think that "you know" is a good way to get a representative sample?

[Cyclone 10]

Average income alone is meaningless of course, and when converting to an equivalent UK amount is massively dependant on the exchange rate.  So cost of living vs income is a more useful measure.

 

The U.S. Census Bureau reported in September 2017 that real median household income was $59,039

 

The median personal income per person, after adjusting for costs of living with local regional price parities and the national PCE price index, averaged $47,807 in 2016 (in 2012 chained dollars). Median adjusted personal income per capita varied from $39,901 in Mississippi to $61,601 in Connecticut (and $64,363 in the District of Columbia). The states closest to the national average were California and Vermont, at $48,384 and $47,971 respectively.

 

Using the $60k amount, the average combined rate of tax paid is 15%, so that leaves about $50k.  Cost of living will vary massively depending on location, but since this is an average I'll select a state with a mid range cost of living for comparison.

 

I expect that you can dispute the cities I've chosen, so feel free to try other ones.

 

You would need around 3,655.62$ (2,894.15£) in Birmingham to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 5,000.00$ in Philadelphia, PA (assuming you rent in both cities). This calculation uses our Cost of Living Plus Rent Index to compare cost of living. This assumes net earnings (after income tax). 

 

I'll include a few more for comparison though;

You would need around 5,897.43$ (4,668.99£) in London to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 6,500.00$ in Washington, DC

You would need around 4,065.63$ (3,218.76£) in Bristol to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 5,400.00$ in Miami, FL

 

So % wise you need less in London by about 10%, less in Bristol by 25%.

The UK is considerably cheaper to live in than the US by these measures.

 

1.27 $/£ right now.  So the 50k converted is £40k.  Take off the 18% to balance out the higher US cost of living and you get £32k

 

The provisional estimate of median household disposable income for financial year ending (FYE) 2017 is £27,200

Disposable income is the amount of money that households have available for spending and saving after direct taxes (such as Income Tax and Council Tax) have been accounted for. It includes earnings from employment, private pensions and investments, as well as cash benefits provided by the state.

 

Not that different tbh.  Local variations probably overwhelm the larger average, so whether you're better off than your mythical US cousin depends entirely on where you live and the local costs.  Sheffield is a pretty cheap place to live!

Where would we compare it too, 4th or 5th biggest city in the UK, so in the US that would be... Philadelphia actually...

Nearly half the cost to live in Sheffield though, Philly is heading towards twice as expensive.

You would need around 3,294.82$ (2,608.51£) in Sheffield to maintain the same standard of life that you can have with 5,000.00$ in Philadelphia, PA 

 

Oh, and the original argument by the OP about how things are cheaper in the US

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in London are 13.03% lower than in Washington, DC
Consumer Prices Including Rent in London are 9.27% lower than in Washington, DC
Rent Prices in London are 3.97% lower than in Washington, DC
Restaurant Prices in London are 1.48% lower than in Washington, DC
Groceries Prices in London are 39.56% lower than in Washington, DC
Local Purchasing Power in London is 22.82% lower than in Washington, DC

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in Bristol are 15.08% lower than in Miami, FL
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Bristol are 24.71% lower than in Miami, FL
Rent Prices in Bristol are 39.52% lower than in Miami, FL
Restaurant Prices in Bristol are 0.11% lower than in Miami, FL
Groceries Prices in Bristol are 33.63% lower than in Miami, FL
Local Purchasing Power in Bristol is 28.65% higher than in Miami, FL

Indices Difference
Consumer Prices in Sheffield are 24.84% lower than in Philadelphia, PA
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Sheffield are 34.10% lower than in Philadelphia, PA
Rent Prices in Sheffield are 52.03% lower than in Philadelphia, PA
Restaurant Prices in Sheffield are 12.27% lower than in Philadelphia, PA
Groceries Prices in Sheffield are 37.66% lower than in Philadelphia, PA
Local Purchasing Power in Sheffield is 6.78% lower than in Philadelphia, PA

 

London is cheaper than Washington in nearly every measure.

Bristol is cheaper than Miami in EVERY measure (and quite a lot).

London and Seattle are about level pegging (every big american city is at least as expensive as London according to the comparison).

 

Given the topic the last figure in those comparisons is a key one, local purchasing power is a comparison of local average income and local average costs.  So the 'average person' in Sheffield is a little worse off than the average person in Philly.  Bristolians vs Miami residents have 25% more cash available.  Londoners are losing big against Washingtonians.

 

The overall cost of living index for the USA and UK are very similar.  There's really not much in it.  (This comparison however ignores the fact that we have state healthcare and a better social security safety net and state provided pension).

https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp

Hmm, incorrectly included my last paragraph of comments in the quote, and it's impossible to edit them after saving apparently.