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Children in poverty before and after housing costs

Proportion of children in poverty before and after housing costs by London borough (2022/23)

Last update: September 2024
Next update: September 2025

What’s this indicator?

This indicator shows the proportion of children in each London borough that are growing up in poverty. View a map of the data at the bottom of the page.

What does it tell us?

This indicator shows the large disparity in poverty rates for children in different London boroughs. Tower Hamlets is the borough with the highest rate of child poverty, after housing costs.  Almost half (48%) of children are growing up in poverty in Tower Hamlets, compared to 12% in Richmond upon Thames.

This also shows us the large impact that the cost of housing has on poverty in the capital. In the borough with the highest poverty levels (Tower Hamlets), 26% of children are classified as being in poverty before housing costs are considered. Taking account of housing costs increases this figure to 48%. 

The child poverty rate at least doubles when housing costs are accounted for in 25 of the 33 boroughs, and even in the borough with the lowest gap between before and after housing costs (Barking and Dagenham) housing costs still increase the child poverty rate by 83%.

Map of child poverty by London borough

Child poverty rate (AHC) (2022/23)

Want to know more?

If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to dig deeper.