London poverty rates before and after housing costs (1996/97 - 2022/23)
Last updated: May 2024
Next estimated update: May 2025
What does this indicator show?
Poverty can be measured both with and without housing costs taken into account. Housing costs can include rent or mortgage payments, building insurance and water rates.
This indicator shows the percentage of people in poverty in London and the rest of England over the years - after and before housing costs are taken into account. By looking at poverty rates before and after housing costs, we can see how much of an impact housing costs have on pushing people into poverty.
What does it tell us?
The proportion of people living in poverty in London increases significantly when housing costs are taken into account rising from 14% to 24%.
This gap between before and after housing costs measures of poverty is much larger in the capital than in the rest of the country (see chart below). In 2022/23 the gap was 10 percentage points in London, compared to 4 percentage points in the rest of England. This demonstrates the fact that the cost of housing is a much larger driver of poverty in London than in the rest of the country.
The impact of housing costs on poverty in London has also increased since the early 2000s. For example, in 2005/06 the gap between before and after housing costs measures of poverty in capital was 9 percentage points, whilst between 2010/11 and 2016/17 the gap has been between 12 and 14 percentage points.
Rest of England poverty rates before and after housing costs (1996/97 - 2022/23)
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