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