Proportion of borough residents' jobs that are paid below London Living Wage (2024)
Last updated: December 2024
Next update: December 2025
What does this indicator show?
The London Living Wage was introduced in 2005. It is a voluntary wage rate based on the amount of money that people need to live. The rate in London in April 2024 when the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings we use for this analysis was conducted was £13.15.
This page looks at jobs held by borough residents that are paid below the London Living Wage. For jobs located in boroughs, please see 'Low-paid jobs in London'.
What does it tell us?
Brent had the highest proportion of residents who were low paid (25.2%) in 2024 followed by Barking and Dagenham (23.8%) and Newham (23.5%). By contrast Wandsworth (9.9%), Westminster (9.9%) and Islington (10%) have the lowest proportion (excluding City of London).
Tower Hamlets had the greatest increase compared to 2023 in the proportion of low-paid residents of 5.2 percentage points, closely followed by Greenwich, which saw a 5 ppt increase. Overall 23 of the 33 London boroughs saw an increase in the proportion of low-paid residents compared to 2023 and 9 saw a decrease. Southwark had the biggest decrease (3.6 ppt) followed by Bromley (2.3 ppt).
Proportion of borough residents' jobs that are paid below London Living Wage by sex (2024)
Low pay by sex
On average across London, the proportion of low-paid jobs held by women is higher than that of men. However, there are noticeable differences between boroughs. Women residents of Kingston upon Thames (25.1%) are more than twice as likely as men (11.8%) to have a low-paid job and in eight boroughs the proportion of women in low-paid work is more than 5 ppt higher than the proportion of men in low-paid work. However, in three boroughs – Kensington and Chelsea, Enfield and Westminster – a greater proportion of men than women are in low-paid work.
Proportion of borough residents' jobs that are paid below London Living Wage by employment type (2024)
Employment type
The proportion of full-time jobs held by residents that are low-paid is below the London average for all jobs (17.5%) in all boroughs; although there is a large gap between the boroughs with the highest proportion, Brent (16.7%), and the lowest proportion, Islington and Wandsworth (both 8.3%). Whereas for part-time jobs there is a far greater proportion of residents in low-paid work. At the higher end of the range, in Newham (54%), Redbridge (52.9%) and Hounslow (52.4%), over half of residents who work part-time are low-paid. By comparison in Kensington and Chelsea (22.6%) less than a quarter of residents in part-time work are low-paid.
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.
Or find out more about the London Living Wage using the link below.
