What does poverty look like in one of the world\u2019s wealthiest cities?<\/b><\/p>\n
In<\/b> this blog, we<\/b> explore<\/b> 10 charts to help<\/b> reveal<\/b> the picture of poverty in London at the start of<\/b> 2026, showing us where our<\/b> capital\u2019s<\/b> problems lie and what needs to change to tackle poverty.<\/b><\/p>\n
As 2026 unfolds, we\u2019ll continue to update London\u2019s Poverty Profile with the latest data to give us the clearest picture of what\u2019s happening in London.<\/p>\n
1. A third of children are growing up in poverty<\/p>\n
Proportion of children in poverty before and after housing costs by London borough (2023\/24)<\/p>\n
Data source and notes<\/p>\n
After housing costs figures are not avaliable for City of London, and please note before housing costs count is 208 children in 2023\/24<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n
Local indicators of child poverty, Centre for Research in Social Policy, Loughborough University for End Child Poverty; Children in low income families: local area statistics, DWP<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n
London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1356<\/p>\n
\/data\/dataset\/1356\/settings\/<\/p>\n
A third of children in London are growing up in poverty. In some boroughs, the picture is far starker. Nearly half of children in Tower Hamlets \u2013 47% \u2013 are growing up in poverty. Growing up without enough affects everything from health and education to future prospects.<\/p>\n
There’s one piece of good news as we enter 2026. Late last year, the government scrapped the two-child limit \u2013 a decision that will lift thousands of London’s children out of poverty. But for rates this high to really shift, we need further and bolder action, particularly on housing.<\/p>\n
2. High housing costs<\/p>\n
Housing costs as proportion of net income for households in poverty (2023\/24)<\/p>\n
Data source and notes<\/p>\n
These results show three-year averages to the stated date. Please note that data for 2020\/21 have been excluded from analysis due to concerns with bias in the sample. Households are considered to be below the UK poverty line if their income is below 60% of the median household income after housing costs for that year. Average net income is before housing costs and is unequivalized since the proportion of net income to houseing costs aren’t dependent on family structure or size.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n
Households Below Average Income, Department for Work and Pensions<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n
London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n
https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1332<\/p>\n
\/data\/dataset\/1332\/settings\/<\/p>\n
Every region has its own poverty story. London’s is characterised by the extortionate cost of housing.<\/p>\n
Across all rental sectors, a one-bed flat in London costs significantly more<\/a> than anywhere else in England. The consequences are stark: London households in poverty spend 57% of their income on housing, compared to 33% elsewhere in England.<\/p>\n When rent takes more than half of what you earn, everything else \u2013 food, heating, children’s clothes \u2013 becomes a struggle.<\/p>\n 3. The homelessness crisis<\/p>\n People sleeping rough in London (2008\/09 – 2024\/25)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Data is fromCHAIN, a database of information about the people sleeping rough known to outreach agencies in London. Please note, the totals for this indicator are different to the rough sleeping by area of London indicator because some people will be recorded in multiple areas. Start of COVID-19 pandemic is marked on the chart to highlight the first data point after or including March 2020.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n Combined Homelessness and Information Network (CHAIN) via GLA London Datastore, St Mungo’s<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1376<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1376\/settings\/<\/p>\n In 2024\/25, nearly 12,000 people were seen sleeping rough in London \u2013 four times the number 15 years ago.<\/p>\n This isn’t improving. Most boroughs saw rough sleeping increase last year. In Hillingdon, it rose by 66%.<\/p>\n Get the latest data, analysis & research on poverty in London delivered straight to your inbox.<\/b> Sign up to London’s Poverty Profile – monthly briefing.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n 4. Temporary accommodation<\/p>\n Total number of households in Temporary Accommodation (2011-2024)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Temporary accommodation live tables (2019-2024). Discontinued & Temporary accommodation tables (2002-2018), MHCLG<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1391<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1391\/settings\/<\/p>\n The number of rough sleepers in London is a stark and visible representation of our city\u2019s problem with homelessness. But behind closed doors there’s a less visible but even more widespread crisis.<\/p>\n In 2024, the last full year we have data for, just under 70,000 households in London were homeless and in temporary accommodation (TA). That equates to around 1 in 50 Londoners \u2013 and on average one child in every classroom.<\/p>\n Temporary accommodation was designed to be exactly that: temporary. Instead, families are stuck for months or years, often in poor-quality housing. We’re campaigning to improve conditions for the thousands of Londoners trapped in this system while we work towards the real solution: enough genuinely affordable homes.<\/p>\n 5. Ten-year high social housing waiting lists<\/p>\n<\/p>\n AOne of the key issues is the lack of genuinely affordable, and especially social housing in London. In 2024 \u2013 the most recent year we currently have data for \u2013 there were 336,000 households in London on the social housing waiting list.<\/p>\n This is more than 100,000 higher than any other region of England. It\u2019s also a 10-year high.<\/p>\n When families can\u2019t access social housing, they\u2019re often pushed into the expensive private rental market \u2013 which in London is extortionate.<\/p>\n 6. A tale of two cities<\/p>\n Healthy life expectancy at birth by borough for men and women (2021-2023)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Healthy life expectancy for men and women as a rolling average over three years. Healthy life expectancy shows the years a person can expect to live in good health (rather than with a disability or in poor health). Figures reflect the prevalence of good health and mortality among those living in an area in each time period, rather than what will be experienced throughout life among those born in the area.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n Health state life expectancy, all ages, UK – ONS<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1285<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1285\/settings\/<\/p>\n Poverty can shape so much of your life: how long you live, and how many of those years you spend in good health.<\/p>\n A woman born in Richmond can expect 13 more years of healthy life than a woman born in Lewisham.<\/p>\n These gaps mirror the child poverty divide we illustrated earlier. Where you’re born in London still determines far too much about how your life will unfold.<\/p>\n 7. A patchwork of deprivation<\/p>\n English Index of Multiple Deprivation, rebased for London (2025)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n English indices of deprivation 2025, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1456<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1456\/settings\/<\/p>\n A short walk around any part of London will show you the huge level of inequality in the city. Wealth and poverty sit side by side, in every borough.<\/p>\n Towards the end of 2025, the latest English Index of Multiple Deprivation was published \u2013 giving us the most accurate picture of deprivation at a local level.<\/p>\n It shows hotspots of extreme deprivation stretching through Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Islington, across swathes of East London, and up through the Lea Valley into Enfield. Meanwhile, much of outer south-west London \u2013 Richmond, Kingston \u2013 remains among England’s least deprived areas.<\/p>\n 8. Youth unemployment is going up<\/b><\/p>\n Unemployment rates by age group (2004 Q4 – 2025 Q2)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Data points represent a year of survey responses up to of the year stated. Some data points are suppressed because of a low number of survey responses. Unemployment rates are the number of unemployed people as a percentage of the economically active population. `Start of COVID-19 pandemic` is marked on the chart to highlight the first data point after or including March 2020.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n Annual population survey via NOMIS, ONS<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1464<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1464\/settings\/<\/p>\n One concerning trend to keep an eye on throughout 2026 is the unemployment rate. Between 2022 and 2025, London\u2019s unemployment rate has been increasing \u2013 especially among young people.<\/p>\n 17% of young Londoners (16-25) are now unemployed \u2013 compared to 4% of older Londoners. That’s also higher than youth unemployment elsewhere in the country.<\/p>\n Part of the explanation is a shrinking job market \u2013 fewer vacancies, particularly in sectors young Londoners have traditionally relied on. As AI continues to reshape the economy, this could be a trend with significant implications for poverty in the years ahead.<\/p>\n Read more analysis about the rising unemployment rate among young Londoners.<\/b><\/a><\/p>\n 9. And so is worklessness<\/p>\n Proportion of Londoners aged 16-64 receiving out-of-work benefits by benefit type (2013-2025 Q2)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Out-of-work benefits data are for May of each year, whereas the population size is based on figures from the mid-year population estimates in June (ONS). Universal Credit (out-of-work) in the chart is based on five types of combinations of Universal Credit which can be found in the csv download. Benefit Combinations via Stat-Xplore, DWP Mid-year population estimates via NOMIS, ONS<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1462<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1462\/settings\/<\/p>\n Unemployment figures only capture people actively seeking work. The full picture is broader.<\/p>\n In May 2025, the proportion of Londoners on out-of-work benefits passed 15% \u2013 higher even than during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n People are out of work for many reasons: illness, caring responsibilities, lack of suitable jobs. But with benefit levels so low, those relying on social security often can’t afford essentials, let alone build a stable life.<\/p>\n 10. Work isn’t the escape route it should be<\/p>\n Employment status of all adults aged 16+ in poverty (2011\/12 – 2023\/24)<\/p>\n Data source and notes<\/p>\n Individuals are considered to be in poverty if their household income is below 60% of the median household income after housing costs for that year. Data presented are averaged over three years. Please note that data for 2020\/21 have been excluded from analysis due to concerns with bias in the sample.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n Households Below Average Income, Family Resources Survey, DWP<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n London’s Poverty Profile 2025<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n https:\/\/trustforlondon.org.uk\/news\/10-charts-to-help-us-understand-poverty-in-london-2026\/#chart-1350<\/p>\n \/data\/dataset\/1350\/settings\/<\/p>\n Perhaps the most striking chart of all: half of Londoners in poverty are already in work.<\/p>\n This often surprises people. Employment is meant to be the best route of poverty \u2013 but for many, it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n This isn’t the case in the rest of England, where the majority of people in poverty are either unemployed or economically inactive.<\/p>\n Two factors drive this. Firstly, wages often fail to match London’s costs \u2013 too many Londoners are stuck in low-paid work.<\/p>\n Secondly, insecure contracts are rife, leaving people without the stability they need to plan ahead or build savings. That\u2019s why the next phase of the London Living Wage campaign will focus on Living Hours as well as wage rates.<\/a><\/p>\n These 10 charts paint a picture of inequality and poverty in London \u2013 a city home to extraordinary wealth, but where so many of its residents are struggling just to get by.<\/p>\n Understanding where the problems lie is the first step to fixing them.<\/p>\n Explore all the data at London’s Poverty Profile \u2013 our regularly updated resource tracking poverty and inequality across the capital.<\/p>\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n`Start of COVID-19 pandemic` is marked on the chart to highlight the first data point after or including March 2020.<\/p>\n<\/dd>\n\n