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Bradford has the most people on carer benefits per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64 in March 2026.

People aged 16 to 64 receiving Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment, in each month with published figures. Money for people who care for a disabled person for at least 35 hours a week. In Scotland, Carer Support Payment replaces Carer's Allowance.

Per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64, low to high

Under 17.6
17.6 to 22.9
22.9 to 28.3
28.3 to 33.7
33.7 to 39.1
39.1 and over

Estimated value

People aged 16 to 64 receiving Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment, per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64, March 2026, by local authority. Boundaries are simplified. London is also shown larger, in a separate box. Northern Ireland is not covered. Every value is in the table below.

More ways to look at itHow ranks change, why spending changed, and spending compared with the expected level

Total or per person

Does the order change when you count per person?

Each line is one of the 350 ranked local authorities. It joins the area's rank for each way of counting. The 10 highest per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64 are drawn in dark lines.

What changed

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Great Britain, Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment: yearly spending at the rate in February 2023 and in March 2026. The chart splits the change into three parts: the number of people in the age group, the share of them claiming, and the average payment. Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

What changed: Carer's Allowance and Carer Support Payment
February 2023	£3.1bn
Population	+£37.8m
Share claiming	+£535.5m
Payment size	+£649.6m
March 2026	£4.3bn

The share claiming is the number of people claiming per person aged 16 to 64. Yearly spending here is the number claiming, times the average weekly payment, times 52. It is not the amount paid out over the year. Population after mid-2024 stays at the mid-2024 figure, so later growth shows in the share claiming. Scottish areas are left out because Social Security Scotland pays this benefit.

Compared with similar areas

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

Spending on working-age benefits per person aged 16 to 64, 2024-25. We compare it with the level we would expect from each area's share of children and of people aged 66 and over, how deprived it is compared with the rest of its nation, and the typical pay of people who live there. Cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Expected level = −£567 + £3,670 × share aged 0 to 15 − £115 × share aged 66 and over − £170 × deprivation decile + £257 × ln(median pay) + £432 × Wales + £94 × Scotland. Fitted by ordinary least squares across 348 local authorities. R² = 0.85. Gold dots are above the expected level and grey dots are below it.

Every local authority

People aged 16 to 64 receiving Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment, March 2026. Rank is for per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64, and 1 is the highest. Areas with fewer than 1,000 people in the age group have no rank. The first 50 of 350 rows are shown.

People aged 16 to 64 receiving Carer's Allowance or Carer Support Payment for every local authority, March 2026
Rank					Notes
1	Bradford	17,956	32.1	51.6
2	Hartlepool	3,013	30.8	50.4
3	Merthyr Tydfil	1,734	29.5	48.0
4	Rotherham	7,982	28.9	47.1
5	Knowsley	4,588	28.4	45.3
6	Walsall	8,176	27.8	45.1
7	Sunderland	8,008	27.9	45.1
8	North Ayrshire	3,550	26.5	44.4	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
9	Tendring	3,763	24.1	44.1
10	Pendle	2,660	26.7	44.1
11	Redcar and Cleveland	3,571	25.7	44.0
12	Neath Port Talbot	3,827	26.8	44.0
13	Great Yarmouth	2,563	25.5	43.7
14	East Lindsey	3,444	23.7	43.6
15	Blackpool	3,840	26.8	43.6
16	Blaenau Gwent	1,800	26.6	43.1
17	South Tyneside	3,891	25.8	42.7
18	Middlesbrough	4,117	26.6	42.2
19	Blackburn with Darwen	4,283	26.5	42.0
20	Oldham	6,509	26.0	42.0
21	Thanet	3,436	24.2	41.5
22	Burnley	2,535	25.6	41.5
23	East Ayrshire	3,065	25.3	41.4	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
24	Barnsley	6,400	25.5	41.3
25	Sandwell	9,173	26.0	40.8
26	Birmingham	31,598	26.7	40.8
27	County Durham	13,298	24.8	40.2
28	Swale	3,909	24.6	40.2
29	Dumfries and Galloway	3,284	22.5	39.4	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
30	Caerphilly	4,205	23.9	38.9
31	North Lanarkshire	8,464	24.6	38.4	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
32	West Dunbartonshire	2,125	23.9	38.3	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
33	St. Helens	4,447	23.6	38.2
34	Inverclyde	1,827	23.2	37.7	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
35	Doncaster	7,426	23.2	37.6
36	North East Lincolnshire	3,584	22.4	37.5
37	Stockton-on-Tees	4,729	23.0	37.5
38	Hyndburn	1,988	23.1	37.3
39	Halton	3,038	23.1	37.3
40	Derby	6,514	23.8	37.2
41	Wolverhampton	6,476	23.1	36.8
42	Rochdale	5,335	22.7	36.7
43	Ashfield	2,908	22.5	36.6
44	Kingston upon Hull, City of	6,484	23.6	36.5
45	Torfaen	2,075	22.1	36.5
46	Rhondda Cynon Taf	5,475	22.6	36.4
47	Denbighshire	2,044	20.9	36.4
48	Wirral	7,111	21.7	36.3
49	Sheffield	13,773	23.7	36.1
50	Dudley	7,272	22.0	36.1

League table of every local authority for the latest period

Values are per 1,000 people aged 16 to 64 unless a column says otherwise. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland.

Every measureThe full list, as plain links

Does the order change when you count per person?

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

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