ALT Greg Thwaites, Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, said: “England is beset by stark and persistent geographic wage inequalities, with Londoners’ typical earning twice as much as those living in places like Liskeard or Cromer. It’s often assumed that people are driving these divides, but in fact place-based pay penalties are rife across England. A typical early career worker could lose out on £1,300 a year just because of where their job is located. “Policy makers at local, regional and national levels can address these divides by creating the conditions for high-paying firms to locate to their areas, while avoiding an arms race between regions in subsidies for firms. “Moving to higher-paying areas can hugely boost young people’s career earnings, but housing is a major barrier to making these moves. Policy makers should do more to bring these housing barriers down.”

ALT The pay postcode lottery What is driving Britain’s place-based wage divides? Date and time: Monday 23 June 2025 9:30 am - 10:45 am Speakers Xiaowei Xu, Senior Research Economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, Greg Thwaites Research Director at the Resolution Foundation, Ruth Curtice, Chief Executive of the Resolution Foundation, Henri Murison Chief Executive at The Northern Powerhouse Partnership, Rachel Taylor, UK Government and Health Industries Leader at PWC

ALT Chart showing Percentage change in real-terms per person departmental expenditure limits: UK