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, adjusted for inflation so that years can be compared.

Below the expected level, then above it

Under −£492
−£492 to −£352
−£352 to −£211
−£211 to −£70
−£70 to £70
£70 to £211
£211 to £352
£352 to £492
£492 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?

East Suffolk, 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.

What changed: State Pension
February 2023	£691.3m
Population	+£15.3m
Share claiming	+£22.9m
Payment size	+£86.9m
March 2026	£816.3m

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.

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	£920	Estimated
2	Blackpool	£871	Estimated
3	Enfield	£862	Estimated
4	Knowsley	£750	Estimated
5	Hackney	£743	Estimated
6	Wirral	£681	Estimated
7	Swansea	£653	Estimated
8	Liverpool	£632	Estimated
9	South Tyneside	£547	Estimated
10	Thanet	£534	Estimated
11	Redcar and Cleveland	£521	Estimated
12	Vale of Glamorgan	£494	Estimated
13	Bridgend	£481	Estimated
14	Sefton	£463	Estimated
15	St. Helens	£453	Estimated
16	Eastbourne	£435	Estimated
17	Haringey	£415	Estimated
18	Halton	£405	Estimated
19	Wrexham	£404	Estimated
20	Gedling	£398	Estimated
21	Islington	£395	Estimated
22	New Forest	£394	Estimated
23	West Dunbartonshire	£383	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
24	North Somerset	£346	Estimated
25	Bromley	£332	Estimated
26	North East Lincolnshire	£326	Estimated
27	Hertsmere	£319	Estimated
28	Hastings	£318	Estimated
29	Birmingham	£306	Estimated
30	Broxbourne	£293	Estimated
31	Conwy	£291	Estimated
32	Wyre	£287	Estimated
33	Adur	£287	Estimated
34	Middlesbrough	£281	Estimated
35	Sunderland	£278	Estimated
36	Solihull	£268	Estimated
37	Lewes	£264	Estimated
38	Redditch	£263	Estimated
39	West Lothian	£260	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
40	Glasgow City	£259	Estimated, Includes Scottish benefits
41	Flintshire	£255	Estimated
42	Worthing	£253	Estimated
43	Denbighshire	£252	Estimated
44	Stockport	£251	Estimated
45	Trafford	£236	Estimated
46	Barnet	£221	Estimated
47	North Tyneside	£215	Estimated
48	Telford and Wrekin	£212	Estimated
49	Lewisham	£211	Estimated
50	Havant	£205	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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