How does my area compare?

Tottenham has the highest total spending on Universal Credit in 2024-25.

Help with living costs for working-age people on a low income, in or out of work. Shown in 2026-27 prices, adjusted for inflation so that years can be compared.

Spending on Universal Credit, total, 2024-25, by constituency

Selected Boston and Skegness: £149.8m total, 2024-25, 119th of 632 constituencies.

Total, low to high

  1. Under £81.3m
  2. £81.3m to £115.1m
  3. £115.1m to £149.0m
  4. £149.0m to £182.8m
  5. £182.8m to £216.6m
  6. £216.6m and over
Spending on Universal Credit, total, 2024-25, by constituency. 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 632 ranked constituencies. It joins the area's rank for each way of counting. The 10 highest total are drawn in dark lines, and the selected area in gold.

TotalPer residentPer person aged 16 to 641632Edmonton and Winchmore Hill 1Enfield North 2Brent East 3Hackney North and Stoke Newington 4Tottenham 5Barking 15Bethnal Green and Stepney 36Birmingham Ladywood 42West Ham and Beckton 56Poplar and Limehouse 60Boston and Skegness 95

What changed

More people, more claims or bigger payments?

Boston and Skegness, 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.

£116.0mMay 2023−£0.65mPopulation+£40.2mShare claiming+£21.7mPayment size£177.2mMay 2026
What changed: Universal Credit
May 2023£116.0m
Population−£0.65m
Share claiming+£40.2m
Payment size+£21.7m
May 2026£177.2m
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

Spending on Universal Credit, 2024-25. 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.

Spending on Universal Credit for every constituency, 2024-25
RankNotes
1Tottenham£363.2m£2,624£3,676
2Brent East£355.5m£2,592£3,812
3Enfield North£325.0m£2,549£3,978
4Edmonton and Winchmore Hill£318.3m£2,544£3,991
5Birmingham Ladywood£309.9m£1,857£2,531
6Hackney North and Stoke Newington£305.1m£2,599£3,775
7Poplar and Limehouse£279.7m£1,872£2,403
8Barking£273.0m£1,916£2,857
9Bethnal Green and Stepney£268.3m£1,992£2,594
10West Ham and Beckton£264.6m£1,789£2,426
11East Ham£263.2m£1,929£2,801
12Croydon West£262.5m£1,989£2,860
13Queen's Park and Maida Vale£258.3m£2,072£2,884
14Birmingham Hodge Hill and Solihull North£245.6m£1,958£3,140
15Ealing North£244.4m£1,817£2,714
16Erith and Thamesmead£241.3m£1,728£2,541
17Leeds South£238.7m£1,806£2,663
18Southgate and Wood Green£235.9m£1,848£2,748
19Hendon£235.7m£1,692£2,508
20Birmingham Erdington£233.0m£1,846£2,891
21Ealing Central and Acton£231.9m£1,668£2,341
22Birmingham Perry Barr£230.3m£1,838£2,803
23Lewisham East£230.1m£1,953£2,864
24Feltham and Heston£229.8m£1,637£2,427
25Stratford and Bow£226.5m£1,641£2,166
26Bradford West£221.7m£1,744£2,685
27Ilford South£221.0m£1,598£2,395
28Bradford East£220.7m£1,781£2,792
29Hayes and Harlington£217.3m£1,540£2,233
30Walsall and Bloxwich£216.7m£1,732£2,746
31Blackley and Middleton South£216.2m£1,874£3,007
32Bolton South and Walkden£215.2m£1,650£2,626
33Wolverhampton South East£212.8m£1,658£2,643
34Blackpool South£212.2m£1,885£3,011
35Gorton and Denton£211.7m£1,777£2,777
36Middlesbrough and Thornaby East£210.3m£1,735£2,688
37Ealing Southall£209.4m£1,584£2,318
38Birmingham Yardley£209.4m£1,777£2,807
39Sheffield Brightside and Hillsborough£208.3m£1,806£2,839
40Finchley and Golders Green£207.7m£1,598£2,513
41Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West£206.9m£1,473£2,177
42Brent West£206.8m£1,428£2,039
43Liverpool Riverside£206.5m£1,569£2,044
44Brentford and Isleworth£204.3m£1,544£2,285
45Peterborough£204.0m£1,538£2,463
46Hackney South and Shoreditch£204.0m£1,730£2,226
47Dagenham and Rainham£203.4m£1,591£2,479
48Derby South£203.2m£1,620£2,503
49Walthamstow£202.5m£1,622£2,277
50Coventry East£199.1m£1,589£2,496

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

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