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 2026-27 prices, using CPI inflation, adjusted for inflation so that years can be compared.

Below the expected level, then above it

Under −£494
−£494 to −£353
−£353 to −£212
−£212 to −£71
−£71 to £71
£71 to £212
£212 to £353
£353 to £494
£494 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. 2026-27 prices, using CPI inflation.

What changed: State Pension
February 2023	£119.8bn
Population	+£2.5bn
Share claiming	+£5.2bn
Payment size	+£16.3bn
March 2026	£143.9bn

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. 2026-27 prices, using CPI 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	£924	Estimated
2	Blackpool	£875	Estimated
3	Enfield	£866	Estimated
4	Knowsley	£753	Estimated
5	Hackney	£746	Estimated
6	Wirral	£684	Estimated
7	Swansea	£656	Estimated
8	Liverpool	£634	Estimated
9	South Tyneside	£549	Estimated
10	Thanet	£536	Estimated
11	Redcar and Cleveland	£523	Estimated
12	Vale of Glamorgan	£496	Estimated
13	Bridgend	£483	Estimated
14	Sefton	£465	Estimated
15	St. Helens	£455	Estimated
16	Eastbourne	£436	Estimated
17	Haringey	£416	Estimated
18	Halton	£407	Estimated
19	Wrexham	£406	Estimated
20	Gedling	£400	Estimated
21	Islington	£396	Estimated
22	New Forest	£396	Estimated
23	West Dunbartonshire	£385	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
24	North Somerset	£347	Estimated
25	Bromley	£333	Estimated
26	North East Lincolnshire	£328	Estimated
27	Hertsmere	£320	Estimated
28	Hastings	£320	Estimated
29	Birmingham	£307	Estimated
30	Broxbourne	£294	Estimated
31	Conwy	£292	Estimated
32	Wyre	£288	Estimated
33	Adur	£288	Estimated
34	Middlesbrough	£283	Estimated
35	Sunderland	£279	Estimated
36	Solihull	£269	Estimated
37	Lewes	£266	Estimated
38	Redditch	£264	Estimated
39	West Lothian	£261	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
40	Glasgow City	£260	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
41	Flintshire	£256	Estimated
42	Worthing	£254	Estimated
43	Denbighshire	£253	Estimated
44	Stockport	£252	Estimated
45	Trafford	£237	Estimated
46	Barnet	£222	Estimated
47	North Tyneside	£216	Estimated
48	Telford and Wrekin	£213	Estimated
49	Lewisham	£212	Estimated
50	Havant	£206	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

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