Your area and the UK’s places
How pay and unemployment-related benefit claims differ between the UK’s constituencies, and how to compare places fairly.
Suits: Geography, citizenship, maths and statistics, PSHE. Levels: ages 11–14, 14–16 and 16+. Rebuilt every night from the latest figures.
A week, full-time, 2025.
Hampstead and Highgate
Leicester East
Of people aged 16–64, August 2026.
Words to know
- Constituency
- An area that elects one MP.
- Median
- The middle value.
- Claimant count
- People claiming benefits mainly for being unemployed.
- Census
- A survey of everyone in the country every ten years.
- Compare like with like
- Compare places using the same measure and time.
- Average
- A single figure that hides differences within the area.
Charts
£ a week. Full-time employees who live in the area.
Source: ONS
% of people aged 16–64. The UK figure is 3.9%.
Source: ONS and DWP via Nomis
Five highest and five lowest areas for typical pay, 2025
| Constituency | Weekly pay | Claimant rate | Party of MP |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hampstead and Highgate | £1,167 | 3.9% | Labour |
| St Albans | £1,155 | 2.7% | Liberal Democrat |
| Wimbledon | £1,150 | 2.9% | Liberal Democrat |
| Harpenden and Berkhamsted | £1,136 | 1.8% | Liberal Democrat |
| Poplar and Limehouse | £1,102 | 6.1% | Labour |
| Newcastle upon Tyne Central and West | £614 | 5.3% | Labour |
| Isle of Wight East | £614 | 4.4% | Conservative |
| Boston and Skegness | £606 | 4.5% | Reform UK |
| Nottingham South | £605 | 4.4% | Labour |
| Leicester East | £603 | 4.8% | Conservative |
Pay is median gross weekly pay of full-time employees living in the area. Claimant rate is of people aged 16–64.
Questions
Which constituency has the highest typical full-time weekly pay, and how much is it?
Answer. Hampstead and Highgate: £1,167 a week (2025).
Which has the lowest, and how much is it?
Answer. Leicester East: £603 a week.
What is typical full-time pay for the whole UK?
Answer. £767 a week (2025).
The figures are for people who live in each area. Why might that differ from the pay in jobs located in the area?
Answer. Many people commute: someone may live in a quiet area and work in a city centre, so their pay counts for where they live, not where the job is.
How much more is the highest area’s weekly pay than the lowest? What is that as a percentage of the lowest?
Answer. £564 more a week; 93% higher than the lowest.
Typical pay in Hampstead and Highgate is £1,167. Work out its yearly equivalent (52 weeks) and compare with the UK.
Answer. £1,167 × 52 = £60,700 a year, against about £39,863 for the UK.
Which area has the highest share of working-age people claiming unemployment-related benefits (August 2026), and which the lowest?
Answer. Highest: Birmingham Perry Barr (14.8%). Lowest: Westmorland and Lonsdale (1.4%). UK: 3.9%.
Compare the highest claimant rate (14.8%) with the UK rate (3.9%). How many times bigger is it?
Answer. 3.8 times the UK rate (14.8 ÷ 3.9).
There are 631 areas with a pay figure. The median area is Southport, at £754. Is the UK figure above or below it, and what could that tell you?
Answer. The UK figure of £767 is above the middle area’s £754. Area figures and the UK median are different calculations, and populations differ between areas, so they do not have to match.
Is a high-pay area always a ‘better’ place to live? Name three other things you would compare.
Answer. No. Compare housing costs, jobs available, transport, health, schools, safety, and what pay buys locally. Pay does not show how it is shared between people.
In the 2021 Census 62.5% of people in England and Wales owned their home (outright or with a mortgage) and 17.1% rented from a council or housing association. How many people out of 1,000 is that for each?
Answer. About 625 owners and 171 social renters in every 1,000 people.
A local group wants funding for jobs. Which two figures would they use to make the case, and what would a sceptic say?
Answer. Open question. For example the claimant rate against the UK, and typical pay. A sceptic might say the figures are averages, miss part-time workers and people working elsewhere, and do not show causes.
Ideas for discussion
- What would you want to know about your own area before deciding where to live?
- Why might a single area figure hide very different streets?
- How should the government decide which areas get extra help?
Answer sheet: Your area and the UK’s places
Find. Hampstead and Highgate: £1,167 a week (2025).
Find. Leicester East: £603 a week.
Find. £767 a week (2025).
Explain. Many people commute: someone may live in a quiet area and work in a city centre, so their pay counts for where they live, not where the job is.
Calculate. £564 more a week; 93% higher than the lowest.
Calculate. £1,167 × 52 = £60,700 a year, against about £39,863 for the UK.
Find. Highest: Birmingham Perry Barr (14.8%). Lowest: Westmorland and Lonsdale (1.4%). UK: 3.9%.
Calculate. 3.8 times the UK rate (14.8 ÷ 3.9).
Calculate. The UK figure of £767 is above the middle area’s £754. Area figures and the UK median are different calculations, and populations differ between areas, so they do not have to match.
Judge. No. Compare housing costs, jobs available, transport, health, schools, safety, and what pay buys locally. Pay does not show how it is shared between people.
Calculate. About 625 owners and 171 social renters in every 1,000 people.
Discuss. Open question. For example the claimant rate against the UK, and typical pay. A sceptic might say the figures are averages, miss part-time workers and people working elsewhere, and do not show causes.
Sources: ONS (Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings), ONS and DWP via Nomis (claimant count), Census 2021, House of Commons Library. See also: Find your area · Compare two areas.