Poverty for children, pensioners and working-age adults (2013/2014 and 2023/2024)
Last updated: June 2025
Next estimated update: May 2026
What does this indicator show?
This indicator shows the percentage of people in London living in poverty (after housing costs), split by age. We can use the first chart to see how poverty differs between children, working age adults and pensioners. The chart further down the page shows the poverty for more specific age groups.
Children have the highest level of poverty in London
Of the three age groups shown here, children have the highest poverty rates, with 35% of children in London in poverty in 2023/24, compared to 23% of working-age adults and 22% of pensioners.
Increasing pensioner poverty
In the last 10 years, the proportion of children in poverty in London has decreased by 3 percentage points - from 38% to 35%.
The poverty rate among working-age adults has also decreased (from 26% to 23%), while for pensioners it has increased (from 18% to 22%).
How does London compare to the rest of England?
Children, working age adults and pensioners all have higher rates of poverty in London than in the rest of England.
In the rest of England, the proportion of children in poverty has increased in the last ten years - whereas in London the child poverty rate has decreased.
Poverty by specific age group
Proportion of Londoners in poverty after housing costs by age band (2023/24)
Poverty rates after housing costs were highest among children and young people in 2023/24, in both London and the rest of England. In London:
- 160,000 children aged four and under live in households in poverty
- More than a third (36%) of children aged 5-9 are in households in poverty
- 39% of 10-14 year olds and 41% of 15-19 year olds live in households that are in poverty.
By contrast, most adults aged over 25 years saw poverty rates of between 18% and 26%.
No age group sees poverty rates higher in the rest of England compared to London, apart from children aged under 5 years (32% vs 28%).
The impact of housing costs
Proportion of Londoners in poverty before housing costs by age band (2023/24)
The impacts of housing costs on poverty in the capital can be seen by comparing these findings to poverty rates before housing costs are taken into account.
After housing costs, most age groups are more likely to be in poverty in London than in the rest of England.
But before housing costs are taken into account, poverty rates by age group tend to be more similar - highlighting the impact of high housing costs in the capital.
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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.