Rural England
Numbers in low income
Key points
- The most commonly used threshold of low income is a household income that is 60% or less of the average (median) household income in that year. For a discussion of why this is the most commonly used threshold, see the page on choices of low income thresholds. The latest year for which data is available is 2005/06. In that year, the 60% threshold was worth £108 per week for single adult with no dependent children; £186 per week for a couple with no dependent children; £182 per week for a single adult with two children under the age of 14; and £260 per week for a couple with two children under the age of 14. These sums of money are measured after income tax, council tax and housing costs have been deducted, where housing costs include rents, mortgage interest (but not the repayment of principal), buildings insurance and water charges. They therefore represent what the household has available to spend on everything else it needs, from food and heating to travel and entertainment.
- One in six people in rural districts live in low income households. This compares with one in four in urban districts.
- 3 million people in rural districts live in low income households. This is around a third of all those living in low income households.
- In rural districts, like in urban districts, the proportion of people in low income has come down slightly over the last decade.
- See the UK indicator on trends in low income.
Graph 1: Rates
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Graph 2: Numbers
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Graph 3: Over time
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Rural/urban ratios (urban = 10)
On most poverty and social exclusion indicators, rural areas have 'better scores' than urban areas. The purpose of the table below is to differentiate between those subjects where rural areas are 'a bit better' and those where rural areas are 'a lot better'. It does so by presenting the rural statistics for the indicator as a proportion of the urban statistics. So, for example, a rural 'score' of 6 in the table below means that the rural statistic is around 60% of its urban equivalent.
| Type of district | Below 60% median | Below 50% median | Below 40% median |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'Very rural' districts | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 'Mostly rural' districts | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 'Part rural' districts | 8 | 7 | 7 |
Definitions and data sources
The indicator
For each type of local authority district, the first graph shows the proportion of people who are in households with low incomes. Three low income thresholds are presented to show the extent and intensity of low income. These are 60% of UK median household income, 50% of UK median income and 40% of UK median income. For a discussion on why these thresholds has been used, and possible alternative thresholds, see the page on choices of thresholds. Income is net disposable household income, after deducting housing costs. All data is equivalised (adjusted) to account for differences in household size and composition.
The second graph shows the distribution of people in households with incomes below 60% of UK median household income by type of district.
For each type of local authority district, the third graph shows how the proportion of people in households with low incomes compares with the equivalent proportion in the mid-1990s. For the latest three years, the low income threshold used is the same as that in the first graph, namely 60% of contemporary UK median household income. For the mid-1990s, the threshold is 60% of contemporary Great Britain median household income, as data was not available for Northern Ireland.
Level of the data
Lower tier local authorities (districts), as classified by the DEFRA 2005 classification system. Both the DEFRA classification rules and their results by local authority can be found on the page on rural/urban classification systems.
Source
Households Below Average Income, DWP. To improve its statistical reliability, the data is the average for the last three years.
The numbers
Graphs 1 and 2
| Type of district | Below 60% median | Below 50% median | Below 40% median | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rates | Numbers | Rates | Numbers | Rates | Numbers | |
| 'Very rural' districts | 18% | 1.1 million | 11% | 0.7 million | 7% | 0.4 million |
| 'Mostly rural' districts | 17% | 1.0 million | 11% | 0.6 million | 7% | 0.4 million |
| 'Part rural' districts | 18% | 1.1 million | 12% | 0.7 million | 7% | 0.4 million |
| Urban districts | 24% | 7.3 million | 16% | 4.9 million | 10% | 3.0 million |
Graph 3
| Type of district | 1994/95 to 1996/97 | 2003/04 to 2005/06 |
|---|---|---|
| 'Very rural' districts | 21% | 18% |
| 'Mostly rural' districts | 21% | 17% |
| 'Part rural' districts | 20% | 18% |
| Urban districts | 27% | 24% |