Are prices rising faster than pay?
Prices rose 3.1% in the year to August 2026. Average weekly earnings rose 3.7% over the year to July 2026, ahead of prices by about 0.8%, and the average UK house cost £272,611.
↓ Down 0.7 points on a year earlier. When the rate falls, prices are still rising, just more slowly.
July 2026, all employees, before tax. Up 3.7% on a year earlier, in cash terms.
UK median in 2025, the middle worker, before tax.
July 2026. ↑ Up 1.4% on a year earlier.
The detail
Each page has the figure, the trend, a table and the questions people ask.
The yearly rate, how it compares with the 2% target, and what it means for your money.
See inflation →Typical pay and prices over the long run, in cash terms and in today’s money.
See pay against prices →Growth in average weekly earnings, July 2026, month by month against inflation.
See wages →The middle full-time worker, and how pay differs across the UK.
See typical pay →The average price by area and type of home, with the change over the year.
See house prices →See what £100 from any year since 1988 would be worth today.
Try the tool →Prices, pay and homes over time
What’s this?
How much prices rose over the previous twelve months, measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI). A rate above zero means prices are rising.
What it cannot tell you: It is an average. Your own prices may have risen faster or slower, for example if you rent or drive a lot.
What’s this?
How much higher average weekly earnings are than twelve months before, in cash terms.
What it cannot tell you: It is before allowing for rising prices: compare it with inflation to see whether pay is keeping up.
What’s this?
The average price paid for a home in the UK, from the prices of all sales registered with HM Land Registry, adjusted to a standard mix of homes.
What it cannot tell you: It is an average of all homes, so it says little about the price of a particular kind of home in a particular street.
Questions people ask
What is inflation?
How much higher prices are than a year earlier. It was 3.1% in August 2026. A falling rate means prices are still rising, only more slowly.
Are wages keeping up with prices?
Over the year to July 2026, earnings rose 3.7% and prices 2.9%, a real change of +0.8%. The long-run picture is on the pay against prices page.
Where do these figures come from?
Prices from the ONS Consumer Prices Index, pay from the ONS Average Weekly Earnings and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, and house prices from the ONS UK House Price Index (HM Land Registry data).
Sources: ONS Consumer Prices Index, Average Weekly Earnings, Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings and UK House Price Index. Updated every night.
See also: Government finances · Everything over time · The UK against other countries · Your area