Rural England
Low income by family type
Key points
- As in urban districts, lone parent households in rural districts are more than twice as likely to be in low income than other family types.
- Two-fifths of all lone parent households in rural districts are in low income.
- Relatively few of those on low income in rural districts are, however, in lone parent families. This is mainly because, overall, there are fewer lone parent families in rural districts compared with urban districts.
- Pensioners form a much greater proportion of those in low income in rural districts compared with urban districts: a quarter of those on low income in rural districts are in pensioner families compared to one in seven of those in urban districts.
- See the UK indicators on low income by age group and by family type.
Graph 1: Rates
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Graph 2: Shares
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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 | Working age, no children | Couples with children | Singles with children | Pensioners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'Very rural' districts | 8 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 'Mostly rural' districts | 7 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| 'Part rural' districts | 8 | 7 | 9 | 9 |
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, with the data shown separately by family type.
The low-income threshold used is 60% of UK median household income. For a discussion on why this threshold 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.
Note that a couple (and therefore both of its adults) is classified as a pensioner couple if either of the adults is of pensionable age. Also note that the phrase 'without children' means 'without dependent children', i.e. without any children aged under 16.
For each type of local authority district, the second graph shows the distribution of people in low-income households by family type.
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 latest three years.
The numbers
| Type of district | Working age, no children | Couples with children | Singles with children | Pensioners |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 'Very rural' districts | 14% | 16% | 43% | 18% |
| 'Mostly rural' districts | 12% | 17% | 41% | 18% |
| 'Part rural' districts | 14% | 17% | 46% | 17% |
| Urban districts | 18% | 23% | 54% | 19% |