Key Worker Map
Where can London's key workers afford a home?
Choose a job and we'll show you what that salary could mean across London.
NHS Band 5 nurse
Representative annual salary before tax
£32,073
Band 5 entry-point England basic pay. London higher-cost-area supplements and other allowances are not included.
NHS Employers · 1 Apr 2026 effective
- Illustrative borrowing · 4.5× income
- £144,329
- Illustrative home budget · 10% deposit
- £160,365
- Deposit at that budget
- £16,037
0 of 33
London areas have a typical first-time-buyer property value within this illustration.
2025 ONS/FCA median mortgage property values, as used in Deposit Gap.
What if two people earned this salary?
Illustrative only. Real mortgage affordability depends on your circumstances and lender criteria.
…or tap a borough on the map.
Darker = a bigger gap. Close means up to 20% above the illustrated budget. These colours are not a lender's decision.
Change assumptions
The deposit is a percentage of the property value, not money already saved. Borrowing multiples are illustrations, not lender offers.
Where did this salary come from?
LFB competent firefighter · £47,991
Competent firefighter basic annual pay, with London weighting consolidated. Excludes the separate 2% MTA skills payment. Not trainee, development or competent-plus pay. Additional allowances are excluded.
London Fire Brigade · Competent from PDR sign-off · 1 Jul 2026 effective
View London Fire Brigade sourceNHS Band 5 nurse · £32,073
Band 5 entry-point England basic pay. London higher-cost-area supplements and other allowances are not included. A defined starting-pay example, not a London median. Use your salary to include your actual London allowance.
England basic pay; London supplements excluded · Band 5 entry point · 1 Apr 2026 effective
View NHS Employers sourceNHS Band 6 paramedic · £39,959
Band 6 entry-point England basic pay for this qualified paramedic example. London supplements and other allowances are not included. Not the pay of every newly qualified paramedic; some enter Band 5 before progressing. Use your actual salary where different.
England basic pay; London supplements excluded · Band 6 entry point · 1 Apr 2026 effective
View NHS Employers sourceMet starting police constable · £43,689
Current Met published starting salary including stated allowances. Source checked on 16 October 2026. The employer page does not publish the pay effective date; effective_from records the source snapshot date, not an inferred settlement date.
Metropolitan Police, London · Starting constable · 16 Oct 2026 source snapshot; pay effective date not published
View Metropolitan Police sourceOuter London starting teacher · £39,196
Minimum of the Outer London qualified teacher main pay range (M1). Inner London rates differ. Official School Teachers Pay and Conditions 2026 applies from 1 September 2026. This is not an Inner London or experienced-teacher salary.
Outer London · Qualified teacher M1 · 1 Sept 2026 effective
View Department for Education sourceSee the full data
| Role | Salary used | Illustrative borrowing | Home budget | Areas within illustration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LFB competent firefighter | £47,991 | £215,960 | £239,955 | 0 of 33 |
| NHS Band 5 nurse | £32,073 | £144,329 | £160,365 | 0 of 33 |
| NHS Band 6 paramedic | £39,959 | £179,816 | £199,795 | 0 of 33 |
| Met starting police constable | £43,689 | £196,601 | £218,445 | 0 of 33 |
| Outer London starting teacher | £39,196 | £176,382 | £195,980 | 0 of 33 |
| Borough | Typical property value | Gross income needed | Income shortfall | Deposit needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| £625,000 | £125,000 | £92,927 | £62,500 | |
| £376,000 | £75,200 | £43,127 | £37,600 | |
| £463,000 | £92,600 | £60,527 | £46,300 | |
| £400,000 | £80,000 | £47,927 | £40,000 | |
| £475,000 | £95,000 | £62,927 | £47,500 | |
| £425,000 | £85,000 | £52,927 | £42,500 | |
| £625,000 | £125,000 | £92,927 | £62,500 | |
| £390,000 | £78,000 | £45,927 | £39,000 | |
| £475,000 | £95,000 | £62,927 | £47,500 | |
| £435,000 | £87,000 | £54,927 | £43,500 | |
| £430,000 | £86,000 | £53,927 | £43,000 | |
| £535,000 | £107,000 | £74,927 | £53,500 | |
| £600,000 | £120,000 | £87,927 | £60,000 | |
| £490,000 | £98,000 | £65,927 | £49,000 | |
| £490,000 | £98,000 | £65,927 | £49,000 | |
| £425,000 | £85,000 | £52,927 | £42,500 | |
| £465,000 | £93,000 | £60,927 | £46,500 | |
| £450,000 | £90,000 | £57,927 | £45,000 | |
| £575,000 | £115,000 | £82,927 | £57,500 | |
| £780,000 | £156,000 | £123,927 | £78,000 | |
| £445,000 | £89,000 | £56,927 | £44,500 | |
| £475,000 | £95,000 | £62,927 | £47,500 | |
| £425,000 | £85,000 | £52,927 | £42,500 | |
| £478,000 | £95,600 | £63,527 | £47,800 | |
| £447,500 | £89,500 | £57,427 | £44,750 | |
| £450,000 | £90,000 | £57,927 | £45,000 | |
| £517,500 | £103,500 | £71,427 | £51,750 | |
| £475,000 | £95,000 | £62,927 | £47,500 | |
| £410,000 | £82,000 | £49,927 | £41,000 | |
| £450,000 | £90,000 | £57,927 | £45,000 | |
| £470,000 | £94,000 | £61,927 | £47,000 | |
| £545,000 | £109,000 | £76,927 | £54,500 | |
| £680,000 | £136,000 | £103,927 | £68,000 |
How did we work this out?
We take a representative official salary for the chosen job and compare illustrative borrowing with typical first-time-buyer property values across London. Real mortgage affordability depends on your circumstances, spending, debts, lender and many other factors.
Read full methodology
Borrowing = gross household income × 4.5. Home budget = borrowing ÷ (1 − 10/100). Income needed = property value × (1 − 10/100) ÷ 4.5. Two salaries doubles the household income, not the salary benchmark. The deposit required is calculated separately; legal fees, taxes and other buying costs are excluded.
Property data: 2025 annual ONS/FCA first-time-buyer median mortgage property values, the same measure used by Deposit Gap. This is not an asking price or a monthly UK HPI average. Salary and property observation periods differ. Missing data is never filled with invented values. Close means the property value is more than the budget but no more than 20% above it. Darker shades within the further-away group show larger proportional gaps.
Salary examples describe specific career stages and geographies, not everyone in the profession. NHS examples use England basic entry pay excluding London supplements because an exact current London supplement has not been independently verified. A Band 6 paramedic is a defined qualified-role example, not every newly appointed paramedic. Change salary if your pay differs. Police pay uses the current Met published recruitment figure, not suppressed ONS occupational estimates. Verified source excerpts and checksums are retained with each benchmark.
View ONS first-time-buyer property dataProperty release: 2026-09-18. Salary effective dates and source snapshots are shown above.
Statistics can compare salaries.
A broker can look at you.
Your income, deposit and circumstances may produce a very different answer from these London-wide illustrations.
Find out what you could actually borrow