To strengthen the case for levelling up London, we’ve put together key statistics which showcase the different challenges in each of the capital’s 32 boroughs, and how they compare to each other. Click on our interactive map below to view the key statistics on poverty, living costs, education and more in each borough:

This data sits alongside our project to influence the government’s levelling up agenda and ensure it recognises and addresses London’s own levelling up needs. Click here to find out about our Levelling Up project.

Note: Our analysis of individual areas covers the 32 boroughs in London. Many of the statistics used are not available for City of London, for which we have not produced a briefing.

References

Below the source for each of the statistics included in our borough summaries, along with any relevant notes about the data we used or our analysis.  

Child poverty 

Source: Hirsch, D. & Stone, J. (2021). Local indicators of child poverty after housing costs, 2019/20. Retrieved from: http://www.endchildpoverty.org.uk/local-child-poverty-data-2014-15-2019-20/  

Notes: The proportion of children who live in relative poverty after considering housing costs in 2019/20. 

People not in education, employment, or training 

Source: Boshoff, J., Moore, J., & Speckesser, S. (2019). Inequality in education and labour market participation of young people across English localities: An exploration based on Longitudinal Education Outcomes (LEO) data. Retrieved from: https://cver.lse.ac.uk/textonly/cver/pubs/cverbrf010.pdf  

Notes: Data is for people who were aged 20-24 years old in 2017.  

No or low qualifications 

Source: ONS (2021). Qualifications of Working Age Population (NVQ), Borough. Retrieved from: https://data.london.gov.uk/dataset/qualifications-working-age-population-nvq-borough  

Notes: Low qualifications are defined as holding a highest qualification below National Qualification Framework Level 2. Level 2 qualifications are equivalent to a GCSE “pass” (Grade A*-C or new grades 9-4). Data is from 2020.  

Unemployment rate 

Source: ONS (2022). Labour market in the regions of the UK: April 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/bulletins/regionallabourmarket/latest 

Notes: Unemployment rate for people aged 16 to 64 years in November 2021 to January 2022.  

Earnings compared to the real Living Wage  

Source: ONS (2021). Earnings and hours worked, place of residence by local authority: ASHE Table 8. Retrieved from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/earningsandworkinghours/datasets/placeofresidencebylocalauthorityashetable8  

Notes: At the time we prepared these summaries, the Living Wage for London was £11.05, and £9.90 across the rest of the UK. The latest data available on earnings at a local level at the time of writing was for 2021, when the Living Wage in London was £10.85. We used data on gross hourly earnings by percentile to identify the proportion of people in each area who earn less than the Living Wage.  

Deprivation by area 

Source: ONS (2021). Mapping income deprivation at a local authority level. Retrieved from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances/incomeandwealth/datasets/mappingincomedeprivationatalocalauthoritylevel  

Inflation rate  

Source: National Institute of Economic and Social Research (2022). CPI Tracker April 2022. Retrieved from: https://www.niesr.ac.uk/publications/no-respite-uk-consumers-and-bank-england-inflation-hits-7-cent?type=cpi-trackers 

Fuel poverty 

Source: Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (2021). Sub-regional fuel poverty data 2021. Retrieved from: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/sub-regional-fuel-poverty-data-2021  

Notes: Fuel poverty is defined as a household that 1) has a residual income below the poverty line (after accounting for required fuel costs) AND 2) lives in a home that has an energy efficiency rating below B and C. 

Cost of homes 

Source: Office for National Statistics (2022). House Price to Residence Based Earnings Ratio https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/housing/datasets/ratioofhousepricetoresidencebasedearningslowerquartileandmedian