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Merton

The London borough of Merton is in South West London. It has a population of 215,324 (Census 2021).

The grid below shows how Merton compares against London overall on key poverty and inequality indicators. Red text denotes the fact that Merton is worse than the selected comparison group for that indicator, and green means it is better. Use the dropdown filter on the right to select different types of comparison.

Merton indicator rankings

Poverty and living standards

Child poverty rate

Child poverty rate (AHC)

27%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (32%)

Average compared to England (31%)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 24.5%)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (31%)

Income deprivation

Income deprivation (relative to London overall)

0.67

Better compared to all London Boroughs ( 1)

Average compared to England (0.8)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 0.65)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (0.82)

Pay inequality

80:20 ratio of earnings

2.65

Worse compared to all London Boroughs (2.5)

Worse compared to England (1.72)

Worse compared to London Planning Area (East - 2.5)

Worse compared to nearest neighbours (2.5)

Poverty rate

Poverty rate

15%

Better compared to all London Boroughs (25.93%)

Average compared to England (22.01%)

Better compared to London Planning Area (East - 20.5%)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (22%)

Housing and homelessness

Evictions

Repossessions per 1,000 households

2.82

Average compared to all London Boroughs (2.3)

(Data not available)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 2.235)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (2.41)

Homeless acceptances

Main homelessness duty owed per 1,000 households

0.56

Average compared to all London Boroughs (1.14)

(Data not available)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 0.775)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (0.94)

Housing affordability

Median rent as a percentage of median pay

44.8%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (46.4%)

Worse compared to England (24.9%)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 39.8%)

Worse compared to nearest neighbours (39%)

Housing delivery

Average net affordable, social and discounted housing completions

174

Average compared to all London Boroughs (353)

(Data not available)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 152)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (130)

Rough sleeping

People seen sleeping rough by outreach

63

Better compared to all London Boroughs (219)

(Data not available)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 92)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (120)

Temporary accommodation

Households in temporary accommodation per 1,000

5.13

Better compared to all London Boroughs (17.03)

Average compared to England (4.54)

Better compared to London Planning Area (East - 11.01)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (12.16)

Work, worklessness and benefits

Benefits

Out-of-work benefits

10.5%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (13.4%)

Better compared to England (13.6%)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 10.5%)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (10.8%)

Low pay (resident)

Proportion of borough residents' jobs that are low paid

13.1%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (16.4%)

(Data not available)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 14.1%)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (19.5%)

Unemployment rate

Unemployment rate

4.5%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (5.1%)

Average compared to England (3.9%)

Better compared to London Planning Area (East - 5.15%)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (5.3%)

Unemployment rate change

Unemployment rate 1 year change

1.3pts

Average compared to all London Boroughs (0.8pts)

Average compared to England (0.2pts)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 2.3pts)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (0.5pts)

Health

Infant mortality

Infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births

4.4

Average compared to all London Boroughs (3.3)

Average compared to England (3.9)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 3.6)

Worse compared to nearest neighbours (3.3)

Premature mortality

Deaths of <75 year olds per 100,000

264

Better compared to all London Boroughs (309)

Better compared to England (342)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 277.5)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (291)

Education

GCSE attainment

Percentage of pupils who achieved grade 9-4

73.9%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (71.2%)

Better compared to England (65.4%)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 73.55%)

Average compared to nearest neighbours (78.3%)

No qualifications

Proportion with no qualifications

2.3%

Better compared to all London Boroughs (6.7%)

Better compared to England (7.4%)

Better compared to London Planning Area (East - 4.4%)

Better compared to nearest neighbours (5.3%)

Qualifications at 19

19 year olds without level 3 qualifications

32.4%

Average compared to all London Boroughs (28.8%)

Average compared to England (34.6%)

Average compared to London Planning Area (East - 31.95%)

Worse compared to nearest neighbours (24.9%)