Poverty over time, before and after housing costs

Last updated: August 2026
Next estimated update: May 2027

What does this indicator show?

Poverty can be measured both with and without housing costs taken into account. Housing costs can include rent or mortgage payments, building insurance and water rates.

This indicator shows the percentage of people in poverty in London and the rest of England over the years - after and before housing costs are taken into account. By looking at poverty rates before and after housing costs, we can see how much of an impact housing costs have on pushing people into poverty.

What does it tell us?

The proportion of people living in poverty in London increases significantly when housing costs are taken into account rising from 15% to 27%.

This gap between before and after housing costs measures of poverty is much larger in the capital than in the rest of the country. In 2023/24 the gap was 12 percentage points in London, compared to 3 percentage points in the rest of England (see chart below). This demonstrates the fact that the cost of housing is a much larger driver of poverty in London than in the rest of the country.

The impact of housing costs on poverty in London has also increased during the early 2000s and 2010s. For example, in 2005/06 the gap between before and after housing costs measures of poverty in capital was 8 percentage points, while between 2010/11 and 2016/17 the gap has been between 12 and 13 percentage points.

Note: Because of methodological changes to the Family Resources Survey (upon which Households Below Average Income is based), there is a break in the series after 2021/22 meaning values after this point should not be directly compared with those prior. You can read more about these changes here.

Want to know more?

If you want to explore this data in more depth, check the 'data source and notes' button on the above charts. This will tell you where the data comes from, where you may be able to dig deeper.