Whether it’s out of a desire to ensure we’re not being underpaid or curiosity about how our friends afford their lifestyles, other people’s paycheques are a source of constant fascination.

However, given that most Brits are cagey about the size of their salaries, we often have to rely on data on average incomes to get a sense of how much we should expect to be paid.

Now, a new Tube map provides an overview of how much money workers take home from different areas of London. Devised by job site Adzuna, the map uses average advertised salaries to highlight the top and lowest-earning parts of the capital.

Employees in Barbican in central London can expect to be the best-paid, with jobs in this area advertised at an average salary of £52,721.

Monument, Bank and Cannon Street follow closely behind, with employers based in these areas offering an average salary of more than £51,000. 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, average salaries tend to go down the further you travel out of central London. The Tube stops with the lowest average salaries in surrounding areas are Uxbridge, Hounslow Central and Hounslow West, all of which are on the far western outskirts of the city. Salaries in these areas barely reach £22,000.

“Londoners love to argue about whose Tube line is the best, and in terms of pay the Waterloo & City line takes top place in the commuting charts, with the Circle and Central lines following close behind,” Doug Monro, co-founder of Adzuna, told The Sun.

The research also shows that the Victoria and Metropolitan lines have the lowest average salaries overall, at £29,056 and £31,927 respectively.

“Jobseekers hoping for a step up the pay scale can pinpoint better-paid positions by looking closely at location,” said Monro.

“The Elizabeth line, due to launch a year from now, will connect one of these high-paid hotspots – Canary Wharf – to other areas of London.”

The 5 best-paid tube stops

Barbican - £52,721

Monument - £51,222

Bank - £51,217

Cannon Street - £51,217

St. Paul’s - £50,583

The 5 worst-paid tube stops

Uxbridge - £21,786

Hounslow Central - £22,437

Hounslow West - £22,437

Elm Park - £22,565

Hornchurch - £22,565

Research by the Office of National Statistics published earlier this year showed that the highest-earning boroughs in Great Britain are the London boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea (where the average salary is £158,000), the City of London (£144,000) and Westminster (£104,000). The lowest-earning borough was Blaenau Gwent in Wales, where the average salary is £21,400.

This isn’t the first time the classic Tube map has been given a new lease of life. Last year, Transport for London (TfL) released a map showing which sections and stations of the tube are underground, designed to help people who suffer from anxiety and claustrophobia.

There is also a Tube map designed to help people walk more, a map that shows which stations have public toilets, and one that shows which stations are accessible to people who can’t manage stairs. You can check them all out here.

Images: John T / iStock