Who Gets What

How does my area compare?

Birmingham Ladywood has the highest total number of people aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit in May 2026.

People aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit, in each month with published figures. Help with living costs for working-age people on a low income, in or out of work.

People aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit, total, May 2026, by constituency

Total, low to high

  1. Under 8,994
  2. 8,994 to 12,511
  3. 12,511 to 16,028
  4. 16,028 to 19,544
  5. 19,544 to 23,061
  6. 23,061 and over
People aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit, total, May 2026, by constituency. Equal-size areas: every constituency is one hexagon of the same size, so small city seats show as clearly as large rural ones. Hexagon layout by Open Innovations. 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 632 ranked constituencies. It joins the area's rank for each way of counting. The 10 highest total are drawn in dark lines.

TotalPer 1,000 residentsPer 1,000 people aged 16 to 641632Birmingham Perry Barr 1Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North 2Birmingham Erdington 5Bradford West 6Bradford East 7Tottenham 14Birmingham Ladywood 17Brent East 21Leeds South 30West Ham and Beckton 100

What changed

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Great Britain, Universal Credit: yearly spending at the rate in May 2023 and in May 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.

£53.7bnMay 2023+£746.4mPopulation+£22.8bnShare claiming+£10.2bnPayment size£87.5bnMay 2026
What changed: Universal Credit
May 2023£53.7bn
Population+£746.4m
Share claiming+£22.8bn
Payment size+£10.2bn
May 2026£87.5bn
The share claiming is the number of households 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.

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. 2026-27 prices.

Chart step
This chart needs JavaScript. Each area's expected level is on its area page.
Expected level = −£2,631 + £5,734 × share aged 0 to 15 + £551 × share aged 66 and over − £201 × deprivation decile + £429 × ln(median pay) + £353 × Wales + £111 × Scotland. Fitted by ordinary least squares across 626 constituencies. R² = 0.85. Gold dots are above the expected level and grey dots are below it.

Every constituency

People aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit, May 2026. Rank is for total, and 1 is the highest. Areas with fewer than 1,000 people in the age group have no rank. The first 50 of 632 rows are shown.

People aged 16 to 64 on Universal Credit for every constituency, May 2026
RankNotes
1Birmingham Ladywood39,560237.0323.1
2Tottenham32,617235.6330.1
3Birmingham Perry Barr32,009255.5389.6
4Brent East29,753216.9319.0
5Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North29,278233.4374.4
6Bradford West29,238230.1354.2
7Birmingham Erdington28,569226.4354.6
8Leeds South27,913211.2311.4
9Bradford East27,904225.1353.0
10West Ham and Beckton27,878188.4255.6
11Bethnal Green and Stepney27,546204.6266.3
12Barking26,815188.2280.6
13Edmonton and Winchmore Hill26,660213.1334.3
14Birmingham Yardley26,528225.1355.6
15Walsall and Bloxwich26,397211.0334.5
16Poplar and Limehouse26,204175.4225.1
17Enfield North26,202205.5320.7
18Liverpool Riverside26,153198.7259.0
19Bolton South and Walkden26,026199.5317.6
20Birmingham Hall Green and Moseley25,829214.4331.9
21East Ham25,792189.1274.5
22Hackney North and Stoke Newington25,526217.4315.8
23Blackpool South25,460226.1361.3
24Wolverhampton South East25,459198.4316.2
25Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough25,350219.8345.5
26Glasgow North East24,824215.7303.7
27Blackley and Middleton South24,709214.2343.6
28Middlesbrough and Thornaby East24,657203.4315.2
29Croydon West24,526185.8267.2
30Gorton and Denton24,410205.0320.3
31Derby South24,261193.5298.9
32Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West24,228172.5254.9
33Queen's Park and Maida Vale24,061193.0268.6
34Blackburn23,891200.8319.2
35Peterborough23,880180.0288.3
36Leicester West23,749175.1261.8
37Salford23,280167.7226.0
38Coventry East23,130184.6290.0
39Erith and Thamesmead22,981164.6242.0
40Stratford and Bow22,928166.1219.3
41Oldham West, Chadderton and Royton22,852194.3310.0
42Manchester Central22,737163.6215.6
43Nottingham East22,604179.8244.0
44Ealing North22,411166.7248.9
45Feltham and Heston22,208158.2234.5
46Ilford South22,156160.2240.1
47Nottingham North and Kimberley22,091201.0323.4
48Tipton and Wednesbury22,069188.0300.6
49Southgate and Wood Green22,043172.7256.8
50Bradford South21,879195.0313.6

League table of every constituency for the latest period

Values are total unless a column says otherwise. Sources: Department for Work and Pensions, Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland.

Every measureThe full list, as plain links

Choose a measure

Search benefit spending, people receiving benefits and income tax