Salary taboo survey: How do Brits feel about discussing salaries?
Estimated read time: 5 mins
In this article, we reveal the findings of our survey: how do UK residents feel about being honest about their salary?
How many Brits have hidden the truth about their salary?
To understand attitudes around income transparency, we conducted a survey asking Brits if they’ve ever been dishonest about their salary, to whom they’ve been dishonest and the top reasons why.
| Have you ever been dishonest about your salary? | Percentage of total responses |
|---|---|
| Yes | 13.9% |
| No | 84.4% |
| Prefer not to say | 1.7% |
Our survey has revealed that nearly 1 in 7 Brits (13.9%) have hidden the truth about their salary, though nearly 85% of those questioned stated that they’ve always been honest about their earnings. It’s encouraging to see that the majority are honest, but some Brits are still feeling the social and financial pressure to hide how much they earn.
Men are more likely to stretch the truth than women when it comes to salary, with 19.3% admitting to concealing about how much they earn compared to just 8.9% of women.
Responses by age show that 25–34-year-olds are the most likely to admit to bending the truth about their salary, with almost one quarter (24.1%) admitting to doing so. This declines with age, as just 7.2% of over 55s have ever been dishonest about their earnings.
This suggests that younger workers may feel more pressure to present a certain lifestyle or level of success, particularly in an era where social media can create unrealistic expectations around career progression and financial milestones.
Manchester has the highest number of residents who have confessed to withholding the truth about their income, with 19.7% stating they’d inflated or toned down their earnings in front of others. This is closely followed by Liverpool (18.3%) and Glasgow locals (16.5%).
In contrast, people in Norwich are the most forthcoming when asked about pay, with 90.9% stating they’d never hidden the truth about salary. Sheffield and Leeds were also in second and third place as the most salary transparent cities with 89.1% and 88% respectively.
Who have Brits hidden their salary from?
| Who have you hidden your salary from? | Percentage of Total Responses |
|---|---|
| Friends | 45.2% |
| Family | 32.6% |
| Colleagues | 16.9% |
| My partner | 14.7% |
| Acquaintances | 14.7% |
| Possible / Future employer | 13.6% |
| Job application forms / Surveys | 12.5% |
| Potential romantic partners / Dates | 12.2% |
| Recruiters | 10.8% |
| Social media / Online communities | 6.5% |
| Professional networks (e.g LinkenIn contacts, mentors) | 6.1% |
| Current employer | 5.7% |
| Tax authorities | 5% |
| Financial advisors / Bankers | 5% |
According to our survey results, Brits who have concealed the truth about their salary are most likely to hide it from the people closest to them. We’re most likely to inflate or downplay salaries to friends, with 45.5% keeping salary realities a secret, while one in three (32.6%) have hidden the truth from family members.
Workplace honesty is more common, as just 16.9% of those surveyed admitted to colleagues, but 1 in 7 (14.7%) were open about hiding their salary from a partner.
There are clear gender differences when it comes to who people choose to mislead about their earnings; over half of the men surveyed (52.9%) had hidden the truth about their salary to their friends, but women were more likely to exaggerate or downplay it to family (38%). Women were also more likely to misrepresent their salary to a partner, which 16.3% admitted to.
The young Brits we surveyed were more likely to keep their salary hidden from family members, which was the case for 42.1% of 16–24-year-olds, while 35-44-year-olds were the most likely age group to mislead friends about earnings, with 61.4% admitting to doing so.
Birmingham and Liverpool respondents lead the way with keeping relationship secrets, with over a quarter of them (27.3% and 26.7%) admitting they’ve hidden their salary from their partner.
When it comes to hiding incomes in front of friends, 80% of Newcastle residents admitted to hiding the truth of their salary in social circles. Southampton and Glasgow locals were the most likely to do so from family members (50%).
Why have Brits hidden the truth about their salary?
| Why have you hidden the truth about your salary? | Percentage of total responses |
|---|---|
| I wanted to protect my privacy | 36.2% |
| I thought it was none of their business | 24.7% |
| I wanted to gain leverage in a negotiation | 19.7% |
| I’m embarrassed I don’t earn enough | 19% |
| It just felt easier in the moment | 17.9% |
| I’m scared people would think differently of me | 16.9% |
| I didn’t want to be judged or pitied | 15.4% |
| I didn’t want to create tension or jealousy | 14.3% |
| I felt pressured to match social or lifestyle expectations | 14% |
| I wanted to seem more successful or ambitious | 12.9% |
| I was trying to impress someone (e.g., a date, peers) | 10.4% |
| The person earns earned more money than me | 9.7% |
| I’m embarrassed I earn too much | 5.7% |
| N/A – There is no particular reason why I have lied about my salary | 2.5% |
When asked about why people had been dishonest about their salary, the most common answer was simple: 36.2% wanted to protect their privacy.
24.7% said it was ‘none of the person asking’s business’, while almost 1 in 5 (19.7%) admitted they exaggerated or downplayed their salary to gain leverage in a salary negotiation.
Men were more protective of their privacy, as this was the most significant cause for withholding the truth for 37.4% of them, with the second most popular answer being they felt it was no one’s business (25.1%).
Women, however, were more likely to feel self-conscious about earnings, with 25% revealing they concealed the truth due to feeling embarrassed about their income.
For younger respondents, privacy is still the top reason for, but fear of judgment and lifestyle comparison are close behind.
Among 25–34-year-olds, who are more concerned about privacy than any other age category, 45.6% stated this was their top reason for keeping their salary private.
But for 16–24-year-olds, the pressure to meet social or lifestyle expectations (23.7%) and the fear of being judged or pitied (21%) was a more significant worry.
As people get older, the reasons behind salary concealment shift. 35–44-year-olds were most likely to cite negotiation leverage (21.1%) as a reason, while 45–54-year-olds were the least concerned about social judgement, as nearly one third (30.6%) believe their salary is no one’s business.
What our findings show
Our survey suggests that while most Brits are truthful about what they earn, some are still willing to bend the truth. In a world where appearances can be everything, salary can often become a benchmark of self-worth.
But hiding or exaggerating income can contribute to poor financial habits, shame around money and even a lack of confidence when negotiating pay.
Avoiding conversations about money doesn’t just affect honesty. It can have real consequences for financial health, as when people feel comfortable discussing pay, they’re more likely to build better financial habits and resilience.
Being honest about what you earn, especially with partners, close friends, or financial institutions, is a key step toward better budgeting, money management and overall financial wellbeing.
Our methodology
The research was conducted by Censuswide on behalf of Vanquis, with 2,000 adults in the UK in June 2025.