Low Income

Low income is a key driver of a range of negative outcomes and can be defined in different ways. Relative poverty (after housing costs) is a useful headline measure, looking at the number of individuals living in households with incomes below 60% of UK median income. Statistics on absolute poverty (which looks at whether households’ living standards are changing over time) and persistent poverty (where households live in poverty for 3 years out of 4) are also available.  

Available indicators include:

  • those contained within SIMD for income and employment – these components of SIMD are listed separately and can be downloaded and analysed at a data-zone level. 
  • individual and household income

See links below for more details

CategoriesPossible indicatorsSources
Low IncomeSIMD components for Income and Employment  SIMD indicators for Income and Employment  
 Percentage employees earning less than the living wageObservatory >Economy > Income & Earning
 Number of benefit claimants by intermediate zoneObservatory >Economy > Income & Earning
 Paycheck Disposable IncomeAtlas p48
 Incomes below 60% UK median 
 Households by income decile / council tax bands 
 Number of children living in relative low income households by ageObservatory >Economy >Deprivation & Poverty