How does my area compare?

Hartlepool is furthest above the expected level of benefit spending per resident in 2024-25.

Actual spending per resident minus the level we would expect from the area's ages, deprivation, typical pay and nation. A figure above zero is above the expected level, and a figure below zero is below it. Shown in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Below the expected level, then above it

Under −£467
−£467 to −£334
−£334 to −£200
−£200 to −£67
−£67 to £67
£67 to £200
£200 to £334
£334 to £467
£467 and over

Estimated value
No value

Benefit spending, compared with the expected level, per resident, 2024-25, 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

What changed

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Great Britain, State Pension: 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: State Pension
February 2023	£104.6bn
Population	+£2.3bn
Share claiming	+£4.8bn
Payment size	+£28.8bn
March 2026	£140.6bn

The share claiming is the number of people claiming per person aged 66 and over. 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.

Compared with similar areas

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

Benefit spending per resident, 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 = £765 − £935 × share aged 0 to 15 + £9,046 × share aged 66 and over − £177 × deprivation decile + £267 × ln(median pay) + £581 × Wales + £224 × Scotland. Fitted by ordinary least squares across 346 local authorities. R² = 0.87. Gold dots are above the expected level and grey dots are below it.

Every local authority

Benefit spending, compared with the expected level, 2024-25. Rank is for per resident, 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.

Benefit spending, compared with the expected level for every local authority, 2024-25
Rank			Notes
1	Hartlepool	£873	Estimated
2	Blackpool	£826	Estimated
3	Enfield	£818	Estimated
4	Knowsley	£711	Estimated
5	Hackney	£705	Estimated
6	Wirral	£646	Estimated
7	Swansea	£620	Estimated
8	Liverpool	£599	Estimated
9	South Tyneside	£519	Estimated
10	Thanet	£507	Estimated
11	Redcar and Cleveland	£494	Estimated
12	Vale of Glamorgan	£468	Estimated
13	Bridgend	£456	Estimated
14	Sefton	£439	Estimated
15	St. Helens	£430	Estimated
16	Eastbourne	£412	Estimated
17	Haringey	£393	Estimated
18	Halton	£385	Estimated
19	Wrexham	£383	Estimated
20	Gedling	£378	Estimated
21	Islington	£374	Estimated
22	New Forest	£374	Estimated
23	West Dunbartonshire	£364	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
24	North Somerset	£328	Estimated
25	Bromley	£315	Estimated
26	North East Lincolnshire	£309	Estimated
27	Hertsmere	£303	Estimated
28	Hastings	£302	Estimated
29	Birmingham	£290	Estimated
30	Broxbourne	£278	Estimated
31	Conwy	£276	Estimated
32	Wyre	£272	Estimated
33	Adur	£272	Estimated
34	Middlesbrough	£267	Estimated
35	Sunderland	£264	Estimated
36	Solihull	£254	Estimated
37	Lewes	£251	Estimated
38	Redditch	£249	Estimated
39	West Lothian	£247	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
40	Glasgow City	£245	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
41	Flintshire	£242	Estimated
42	Worthing	£240	Estimated
43	Denbighshire	£239	Estimated
44	Stockport	£238	Estimated
45	Trafford	£224	Estimated
46	Barnet	£210	Estimated
47	North Tyneside	£204	Estimated
48	Telford and Wrekin	£201	Estimated
49	Lewisham	£200	Estimated
50	Havant	£195	Estimated

League table of every local authority for the latest period

Values are per resident unless a column says otherwise. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, Social Security Scotland, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, Welsh Government, Scottish Government.

Every measureThe full list, as plain links

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Is spending higher or lower than expected?

Every local authority

Choose a measure