London vs Los Angeles: 23% vs 26%
Los Angeles wins on savings rate by 3 percentage-points. Rent burden: 40% in London vs 24% in Los Angeles. Median incomes: £60,000 (GBP) vs $120,000 (USD).
London
- Savings rate
- 23%
- Median income
- £60,000 /yr
- Median rent
- £2,000 /mo
- Rent burden
- 40%
- Total core costs
- £3,700 /mo
- Years to FIRE
- 80 yrs
Los Angeles
- Savings rate
- 26%
- Median income
- $120,000 /yr
- Median rent
- $2,400 /mo
- Rent burden
- 24%
- Total core costs
- $4,400 /mo
- Years to FIRE
- 42 yrs
Verdict
- Savings rate: Los Angeles (26%) beats London (23%) by 3 pp.
- Rent burden: Los Angeles (24%) is more affordable than London (40%).
- FIRE timeline: Los Angeles reaches financial independence in ~42 years, vs ~80 years in London.
- 5-year wealth gap: The 3-pp annual savings-rate gap compounds to ~15 percentage-points of gross income over five years — directly attributable to local cost structure.
London vs Los Angeles — FAQ
Which city has the higher savings rate, London or Los Angeles?+
Los Angeles has the higher savings rate at 26% of gross income, compared to 23% in London. That is a 3 percentage-point gap. Over a 5-year horizon, the gap compounds to roughly 15 percentage-points of gross income — meaningful for anyone optimising long-term wealth.
What is the income gap between London and Los Angeles?+
Median London household income (mid-band) is around £60,000/year (GBP). In Los Angeles it is around $120,000/year (USD). Different currencies make a direct gap meaningless without an exchange rate, so compare savings rate (%) and rent burden (%) instead.
Is rent worse in London or Los Angeles?+
Rent burden is higher in London: rent eats 40% of gross median income there, vs 24% in Los Angeles. Median monthly rent is £2,000 in London and $2,400 in Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the better city for renters at the median income level.
Which city is better for early retirement (FIRE), London or Los Angeles?+
Using a simple 25x-expenses FIRE benchmark, a mid-income earner in Los Angeles could reach financial independence in roughly 42 years at the current local savings rate, vs 80 years in London. Los Angeles is the better FIRE city for mid-income earners based on local savings rate and cost structure.
What about cost-of-living adjusted — does Los Angeles still win?+
Yes. Savings rate already factors in the local cost of living, because it is calculated as (income − expenses) ÷ income using BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023. Los Angeles's 26% rate is the cost-adjusted figure — it already reflects what residents actually save after paying rent and other expenses. The 3 percentage-point lead over London is real, not a currency illusion.
Methodology
Savings rates from ONS Living Costs & Food Survey FYE2024 for London (United Kingdom) and BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey 2023 for Los Angeles (United States). Median income is the midpoint of the default income band for each city. Rent burden is annualised rent divided by gross median income. Years to FIRE assumes a 25× annual expenses target, saved at the local benchmark rate, with no investment growth — a deliberately conservative proxy for ordering cities, not a forecast.
Comparisons across different currencies should focus on percentages (savings rate, rent burden), not absolute amounts.