League table · 315 areas
Benefits spending by council area
Total pounds paid out in each local authority across six benefits. Larger areas rank higher, so use the per-person table for a fairer comparison.
Covers six benefits only: Universal Credit, PIP, Housing Benefit, DLA, Carer's Allowance and ESA. Excludes the State Pension, the largest welfare line. Compiled by the TaxPayers' Alliance from DWP Stat-Xplore, not a DWP borough publication. England and Wales, £133.1 billion in the 12 months to March 2026. Do not add this to the council budget: Housing Benefit is in both.
| # | Area | Total | Per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Birmingham | £4.0bn | £3,367 |
| 2 | Leeds | £1.8bn | £2,164 |
| 3 | Manchester | £1.8bn | £3,023 |
| 4 | Liverpool | £1.7bn | £3,442 |
| 5 | Bradford | £1.5bn | £2,755 |
| 6 | Durham | £1.4bn | £2,650 |
| 7 | Enfield | £1.3bn | £3,820 |
| 8 | Brent | £1.2bn | £3,431 |
| 9 | Cornwall | £1.2bn | £1,970 |
| 10 | Newham | £1.1bn | £2,958 |
| 11 | Tower Hamlets | £1.1bn | £3,286 |
| 12 | Croydon | £1.1bn | £2,655 |
| 13 | Ealing | £1.1bn | £2,789 |
| 14 | Hackney | £1.1bn | £4,032 |
| 15 | Barnet | £1.1bn | £2,584 |
| 16 | Bristol | £1.0bn | £2,111 |
| 17 | Somerset | £983.4m | £1,664 |
| 18 | Nottingham City | £978.1m | £3,002 |
| 19 | Kirklees | £958.1m | £2,149 |
| 20 | Haringey | £951.4m | £3,574 |
| 21 | Lewisham | £949.7m | £3,155 |
| 22 | Sandwell | £942.6m | £2,671 |
| 23 | Cardiff | £927.4m | £2,431 |
| 24 | North Yorkshire | £919.1m | £1,438 |
| 25 | Wirral | £909.6m | £2,757 |
| 26 | Leicester City | £903.3m | £2,358 |
| 27 | Lambeth | £896.4m | £2,852 |
| 28 | Coventry | £893.7m | £2,450 |
| 29 | Wakefield | £887.1m | £2,401 |
| 30 | Southwark | £855.2m | £2,738 |
| 31 | Salford | £854.2m | £2,876 |
| 32 | Sunderland | £839.9m | £2,926 |
| 33 | Greenwich | £823.9m | £2,735 |
| 34 | Kingston-upon-Hull | £818.5m | £2,995 |
| 35 | Doncaster | £804.2m | £2,490 |
| 36 | Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole | £794.3m | £1,957 |
| 37 | Walsall | £792.6m | £2,680 |
| 38 | Wigan | £790.4m | £2,277 |
| 39 | Buckinghamshire | £780.9m | £1,336 |
| 40 | Bolton | £773.5m | £2,497 |
| 41 | Newcastle | £772.8m | £2,409 |
| 42 | Islington | £770.8m | £3,433 |
| 43 | Wiltshire | £757.4m | £1,439 |
| 44 | Rotherham | £755.1m | £2,705 |
| 45 | Wolverhampton | £734.0m | £2,608 |
| 46 | Waltham Forest | £729.6m | £2,572 |
| 47 | Hounslow | £729.2m | £2,435 |
| 48 | Sefton | £727.6m | £2,530 |
| 49 | West Northamptonshire | £720.7m | £1,622 |
| 50 | Hillingdon | £720.2m | £2,205 |
| 51 | Dudley | £715.0m | £2,141 |
| 52 | Barking & Dagenham | £714.1m | £2,997 |
| 53 | Stoke-on-Trent | £713.9m | £2,622 |
| 54 | Redbridge | £707.6m | £2,199 |
| 55 | North Northamptonshire | £704.6m | £1,856 |
| 56 | Derby City | £698.7m | £2,538 |
| 57 | Oldham | £686.9m | £2,727 |
| 58 | Cheshire West and Chester | £681.8m | £1,823 |
| 59 | Rhondda Cynon Taf | £680.5m | £2,824 |
| 60 | Brighton & Hove | £680.4m | £2,394 |
| 61 | Wandsworth | £677.8m | £1,994 |
| 62 | Rochdale | £672.2m | £2,829 |
| 63 | Swansea | £663.7m | £2,661 |
| 64 | Medway Towns | £663.5m | £2,267 |
| 65 | Plymouth | £656.6m | £2,420 |
| 66 | Northumberland | £656.2m | £1,965 |
| 67 | Cheshire East | £642.5m | £1,510 |
| 68 | Tameside | £641.2m | £2,663 |
| 69 | Camden | £633.6m | £2,925 |
| 70 | Westminster | £631.6m | £2,974 |
| 71 | Dorset | £625.5m | £1,600 |
| 72 | Southampton | £596.8m | £2,302 |
| 73 | Milton Keynes | £594.9m | £1,926 |
| 74 | Bromley | £581.3m | £1,730 |
| 75 | Harrow | £573.8m | £2,105 |
| 76 | Stockport | £565.9m | £1,856 |
| 77 | Knowsley | £556.4m | £3,398 |
| 78 | Luton | £556.2m | £2,353 |
| 79 | Havering | £554.6m | £1,975 |
| 80 | Peterborough | £542.2m | £2,412 |
| 81 | East Riding of Yorkshire | £524.6m | £1,456 |
| 82 | Caerphilly | £524.5m | £2,979 |
| 83 | St Helens | £518.1m | £2,728 |
| 84 | Gateshead | £516.8m | £2,552 |
| 85 | Blackpool | £506.7m | £3,531 |
| 86 | Portsmouth | £498.8m | £2,359 |
| 87 | Bexley | £498.1m | £1,937 |
| 88 | Shropshire | £494.1m | £1,483 |
| 89 | Calderdale | £494.1m | £2,345 |
| 90 | Telford & the Wrekin | £486.3m | £2,439 |
| 91 | Hammersmith & Fulham | £484.7m | £2,548 |
| 92 | Stockton-on-Tees | £481.4m | £2,324 |
| 93 | Middlesbrough | £477.1m | £3,122 |
| 94 | Central Bedfordshire | £476.6m | £1,482 |
| 95 | South Gloucestershire | £467.0m | £1,512 |
| 96 | North Tyneside | £465.6m | £2,161 |
| 97 | Carmarthenshire | £459.4m | £2,417 |
| 98 | East Suffolk | £457.1m | £1,828 |
| 99 | Southend-on-Sea | £452.3m | £2,442 |
| 100 | Neath Port Talbot | £448.2m | £3,156 |
| 101 | Blackburn with Darwen | £447.0m | £2,729 |
| 102 | Bury | £446.7m | £2,242 |
| 103 | South Tyneside | £442.8m | £2,927 |
| 104 | Swindon | £441.2m | £1,799 |
| 105 | Solihull | £428.6m | £1,936 |
| 106 | Basildon | £428.5m | £2,215 |
| 107 | Newport | £426.2m | £2,528 |
| 108 | Thanet | £425.2m | £2,961 |
| 109 | North East Lincolnshire | £417.6m | £2,608 |
| 110 | Tendring | £416.1m | £2,616 |
| 111 | Trafford | £411.4m | £1,707 |
| 112 | Merton | £408.3m | £1,865 |
| 113 | Warrington | £401.8m | £1,865 |
| 114 | Swale | £393.7m | £2,450 |
| 115 | Sutton | £393.3m | £1,838 |
| 116 | North Somerset | £390.0m | £1,717 |
| 117 | Redcar & Cleveland | £389.6m | £2,792 |
| 118 | Halton | £384.0m | £2,911 |
| 119 | Bridgend | £384.0m | £2,612 |
| 120 | Preston | £380.5m | £2,313 |
| 121 | Slough | £379.5m | £2,267 |
| 122 | Bedford | £379.1m | £1,930 |
| 123 | Thurrock | £371.5m | £2,045 |
| 124 | Colchester | £368.3m | £1,831 |
| 125 | Norwich City | £359.1m | £2,465 |
| 126 | Torbay | £356.5m | £2,556 |
| 127 | North Lincolnshire | £352.7m | £2,058 |
| 128 | East Lindsey | £351.0m | £2,391 |
| 129 | Reading | £345.3m | £1,879 |
| 130 | Kensington & Chelsea | £343.9m | £2,360 |
| 131 | Maidstone | £339.0m | £1,771 |
| 132 | Wrexham | £331.7m | £2,404 |
| 133 | Westmorland and Furness | £330.2m | £1,428 |
| 134 | Canterbury | £326.7m | £2,009 |
| 135 | Ipswich | £326.2m | £2,339 |
| 136 | Nuneaton & Bedworth | £325.4m | £2,259 |
| 137 | Hartlepool | £324.6m | £3,257 |
| 138 | Isle of Wight | £322.6m | £2,291 |
| 139 | Flintshire | £321.6m | £2,062 |
| 140 | Arun | £321.6m | £1,866 |
| 141 | Ashfield | £318.4m | £2,438 |
| 142 | Herefordshire | £299.7m | £1,557 |
| 143 | Burnley | £289.7m | £2,870 |
| 144 | Lancaster | £289.2m | £1,991 |
| 145 | Kingston Upon Thames | £288.7m | £1,671 |
| 146 | Gloucester | £288.6m | £2,083 |
| 147 | Mansfield | £288.0m | £2,533 |
| 148 | Braintree | £287.1m | £1,724 |
| 149 | Bath & North East Somerset | £286.8m | £1,428 |
| 150 | King's Lynn & West Norfolk | £285.8m | £1,821 |
| 151 | Dacorum | £285.3m | £1,758 |
| 152 | Basingstoke & Deane | £283.8m | £1,463 |
| 153 | Vale of Glamorgan | £283.3m | £2,093 |
| 154 | West Suffolk | £283.1m | £1,495 |
| 155 | Chelmsford | £282.8m | £1,484 |
| 156 | Great Yarmouth | £281.6m | £2,789 |
| 157 | Dover | £281.3m | £2,323 |
| 158 | Charnwood | £280.3m | £1,477 |
| 159 | Hastings | £280.0m | £3,082 |
| 160 | Torfaen | £276.4m | £2,941 |
| 161 | Pembrokeshire | £274.7m | £2,183 |
| 162 | Havant | £272.5m | £2,140 |
| 163 | Ashford | £270.6m | £1,899 |
| 164 | Huntingdonshire | £269.7m | £1,405 |
| 165 | York | £267.8m | £1,281 |
| 166 | Eastbourne | £266.3m | £2,563 |
| 167 | Conwy | £265.6m | £2,321 |
| 168 | Richmond upon Thames | £265.3m | £1,349 |
| 169 | Chesterfield | £262.9m | £2,471 |
| 170 | Crawley | £262.8m | £2,112 |
| 171 | Denbighshire | £259.3m | £2,639 |
| 172 | Folkestone & Hythe | £254.9m | £2,272 |
| 173 | Breckland | £254.7m | £1,720 |
| 174 | Amber Valley | £254.3m | £1,928 |
| 175 | New Forest | £254.0m | £1,444 |
| 176 | Oxford | £254.0m | £1,530 |
| 177 | Bassetlaw | £251.3m | £1,987 |
| 178 | Pendle | £251.1m | £2,506 |
| 179 | Hyndburn | £249.3m | £2,869 |
| 180 | Darlington | £248.7m | £2,193 |
| 181 | Gravesham | £247.6m | £2,226 |
| 182 | Cherwell | £246.2m | £1,430 |
| 183 | Newark & Sherwood | £243.1m | £1,889 |
| 184 | Exeter | £242.6m | £1,759 |
| 185 | Lincoln City | £239.6m | £2,319 |
| 186 | Wyre | £238.9m | £1,982 |
| 187 | Erewash | £238.9m | £2,105 |
| 188 | Teignbridge | £237.8m | £1,716 |
| 189 | West Lancashire | £236.3m | £1,912 |
| 190 | Powys | £234.9m | £1,742 |
| 191 | Wealden | £233.9m | £1,390 |
| 192 | Newcastle-under-Lyme | £231.8m | £1,810 |
| 193 | South Kesteven | £231.4m | £1,562 |
| 194 | Harlow | £230.7m | £2,341 |
| 195 | Blaenau Gwent | £230.5m | £3,410 |
| 196 | Welwyn Hatfield | £230.1m | £1,890 |
| 197 | East Devon | £229.5m | £1,438 |
| 198 | East Staffordshire | £228.8m | £1,740 |
| 199 | Fenland | £226.6m | £2,139 |
| 200 | Broxbourne | £225.4m | £2,185 |
| 201 | Gedling | £224.1m | £1,850 |
| 202 | West Berkshire | £223.6m | £1,351 |
| 203 | Epping Forest | £222.1m | £1,605 |
| 204 | Tonbridge & Malling | £221.8m | £1,609 |
| 205 | Gwynedd | £221.5m | £1,841 |
| 206 | Stafford | £219.2m | £1,534 |
| 207 | Dartford | £218.0m | £1,726 |
| 208 | Wyre Forest | £216.1m | £2,075 |
| 209 | Reigate and Banstead | £215.8m | £1,354 |
| 210 | Cannock Chase | £215.6m | £2,068 |
| 211 | Worthing | £215.1m | £1,890 |
| 212 | Warwick | £213.5m | £1,352 |
| 213 | Hertsmere | £213.1m | £1,933 |
| 214 | Wychavon | £212.8m | £1,529 |
| 215 | Chorley | £212.4m | £1,744 |
| 216 | Watford | £211.2m | £1,962 |
| 217 | East Hertfordshire | £209.9m | £1,328 |
| 218 | Eastleigh | £209.1m | £1,455 |
| 219 | South Norfolk | £208.7m | £1,388 |
| 220 | South Cambridgeshire | £207.4m | £1,188 |
| 221 | Mid Sussex | £205.4m | £1,256 |
| 222 | North Hertfordshire | £205.2m | £1,494 |
| 223 | Stevenage | £203.8m | £2,213 |
| 224 | North East Derbyshire | £202.0m | £1,873 |
| 225 | Bolsover | £201.7m | £2,390 |
| 226 | Chichester | £201.0m | £1,544 |
| 227 | Lewes | £199.7m | £1,945 |
| 228 | Worcester | £199.5m | £1,866 |
| 229 | Vale of White Horse | £197.9m | £1,300 |
| 230 | Stratford-on-Avon | £197.4m | £1,327 |
| 231 | South Derbyshire | £195.2m | £1,634 |
| 232 | Merthyr Tydfil | £194.8m | £3,339 |
| 233 | Cambridge | £193.2m | £1,289 |
| 234 | Spelthorne | £193.1m | £1,801 |
| 235 | South Ribble | £193.0m | £1,641 |
| 236 | Broxtowe | £187.4m | £1,645 |
| 237 | Test Valley | £187.4m | £1,381 |
| 238 | West Lindsey | £187.2m | £1,877 |
| 239 | Rugby | £186.8m | £1,487 |
| 240 | Broadland | £186.4m | £1,334 |
| 241 | North Devon | £185.9m | £1,836 |
| 242 | St Albans | £185.3m | £1,229 |
| 243 | Wokingham | £183.6m | £971 |
| 244 | Rother | £183.3m | £1,906 |
| 245 | Horsham | £182.2m | £1,199 |
| 246 | Gosport | £181.3m | £2,195 |
| 247 | North Norfolk | £181.3m | £1,748 |
| 248 | Windsor & Maidenhead | £181.2m | £1,134 |
| 249 | Hinckley & Bosworth | £180.5m | £1,527 |
| 250 | Bracknell Forest | £180.2m | £1,363 |
| 251 | North Kesteven | £179.7m | £1,458 |
| 252 | Guildford | £177.3m | £1,165 |
| 253 | Rushmoor | £176.7m | £1,664 |
| 254 | Redditch | £176.4m | £2,015 |
| 255 | Tunbridge Wells | £176.0m | £1,466 |
| 256 | Sevenoaks | £175.9m | £1,428 |
| 257 | South Holland | £175.6m | £1,742 |
| 258 | Cheltenham | £174.8m | £1,440 |
| 259 | South Oxfordshire | £174.8m | £1,106 |
| 260 | North West Leicestershire | £174.3m | £1,539 |
| 261 | Winchester | £174.0m | £1,271 |
| 262 | Elmbridge | £173.4m | £1,217 |
| 263 | South Staffordshire | £169.2m | £1,474 |
| 264 | Stroud | £168.9m | £1,336 |
| 265 | Boston | £165.6m | £2,297 |
| 266 | Lichfield | £164.2m | £1,450 |
| 267 | Tamworth | £162.3m | £1,994 |
| 268 | Rossendale | £157.8m | £2,142 |
| 269 | High Peak | £155.5m | £1,697 |
| 270 | Tewkesbury | £154.7m | £1,491 |
| 271 | Monmouthshire | £153.7m | £1,612 |
| 272 | Forest of Dean | £153.2m | £1,699 |
| 273 | West Oxfordshire | £152.9m | £1,260 |
| 274 | East Hampshire | £152.3m | £1,166 |
| 275 | Isle of Anglesey | £150.4m | £2,192 |
| 276 | Castle Point | £149.6m | £1,651 |
| 277 | Woking | £149.4m | £1,407 |
| 278 | Mid Suffolk | £146.4m | £1,295 |
| 279 | Fylde | £145.0m | £1,673 |
| 280 | Waverley | £144.6m | £1,054 |
| 281 | Rushcliffe | £142.3m | £1,113 |
| 282 | Blaby | £141.1m | £1,302 |
| 283 | Mid Devon | £138.7m | £1,621 |
| 284 | Fareham | £137.0m | £1,187 |
| 285 | Bromsgrove | £136.5m | £1,339 |
| 286 | South Hams | £135.3m | £1,453 |
| 287 | Babergh | £134.4m | £1,374 |
| 288 | Staffordshire Moorlands | £134.3m | £1,388 |
| 289 | Ceredigion | £132.4m | £1,821 |
| 290 | Runnymede | £131.8m | £1,417 |
| 291 | Torridge | £131.2m | £1,864 |
| 292 | Three Rivers | £129.1m | £1,344 |
| 293 | Tandridge | £128.1m | £1,419 |
| 294 | East Cambridgeshire | £127.4m | £1,347 |
| 295 | Malvern Hills | £126.4m | £1,498 |
| 296 | North Warwickshire | £125.9m | £1,860 |
| 297 | Rochford | £120.9m | £1,332 |
| 298 | Adur | £119.9m | £1,850 |
| 299 | Harborough | £115.3m | £1,082 |
| 300 | Uttlesford | £110.9m | £1,146 |
| 301 | Mole Valley | £108.5m | £1,222 |
| 302 | Surrey Heath | £106.7m | £1,122 |
| 303 | Maldon | £105.5m | £1,503 |
| 304 | Hart | £104.4m | £1,011 |
| 305 | Epsom & Ewell | £104.4m | £1,252 |
| 306 | Cotswold | £103.5m | £1,130 |
| 307 | Brentwood | £100.2m | £1,251 |
| 308 | Oadby & Wigston | £93.2m | £1,514 |
| 309 | Derbyshire Dales | £91.1m | £1,264 |
| 310 | West Devon | £89.0m | £1,508 |
| 311 | Melton | £78.2m | £1,430 |
| 312 | Ribble Valley | £69.1m | £1,032 |
| 313 | Rutland | £42.4m | £1,018 |
| 314 | City of London | £10.3m | £661 |
| 315 | Isles of Scilly | £1.1m | £466 |
Common questions
Which council area receives the most in benefits?
Birmingham has the highest total six-benefit spending of any English or Welsh local authority.
Why does Birmingham rank so high?
Total spending follows population as well as need. Birmingham is the largest local authority in England, so use the per-person ranking to compare areas of different sizes.