Income and wealth inequality

Key points

  • London, and Inner London in particular, is more unequal than any other region of England. In Inner London, 17% of people live in the poorest tenth of households in the country and 18% live in the richest tenth.
  • The richest tenth of London households by income account for 40% of all income. This is more than twice as much as the entire bottom half of households.
  • But differences by wealth are more striking still. The richest 10% in terms of financial wealth account for two-thirds of all such wealth in London. The bottom half effectively account for none of the financial wealth in the capital.
  • Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster are the most polarised boroughs in London. In both cases half of benefit recipients live in the most deprived quarter of neighbourhoods. The richest quarter of neighbourhoods account for only 5% of benefit recipients. Conversely, the least polarised boroughs are concentrated in the Inner East & South.
  • Kensington & Chelsea has the biggest gap between high and low earners, both in relative and absolute terms. The top quarter of high earners earn on average £40 per hour. Low earners (the bottom quarter) earn £12 per hour.

Find out more about Income and wealth inequality by visiting the indicators in this section, listed on the right.

Inequality in the UK, and London in particular, has risen up the agenda in recent years. Books such as The Spirit Level became essential reading for politicians of all parties. The report by The National Equality Panel analysed a range of inequalities across the UK, between rich and poor as well as different groups (including ethnicity, gender, disability, age and sexual orientation) and parts of the country.

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Glossary

Quartile:

25% of the relevant population ordered according to the measure being discussed

Inner London:

Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster

Outer London:

Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bromley, Bexley, Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest

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