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Where do people in the West Midlands sit in the income distribution?

24% of people in the West Midlands were in the lowest-income fifth before housing costs, against 20% of everyone; 15% were in the highest (three years, April 2022 to March 2025, averaged). See how this compares after housing costs and how their low-income rate has changed since 1994/95.

Evidence last reviewed 31 October 2026

Where they sit

West Midlands: share in each income fifth, after housing costs, three years, April 2022 to March 2025, averaged
Survey-based evidence · Family Resources Survey, three years, April 2022 to March 2025, averaged
  • Lowest-income fifth22%

    Everyone: 20%

  • Second fifth23%

    Everyone: 20%

  • Middle fifth22%

    Everyone: 20%

  • Fourth fifth19%

    Everyone: 20%

  • Highest-income fifth15%

    Everyone: 20%

If this group had the same incomes as everyone else, each bar would be 20%. About 6.1 million people were in this group.

Show the workings and sources
West Midlands by income fifth, AHC
FifthShare of group
Lowest-income fifth21.6%
Second fifth22.5%
Middle fifth22.0%
Fourth fifth18.5%
Highest-income fifth15.3%

HBAI Table 3.2db (Region or nation). Row label as published: “West Midlands”.

  • Survey-based: Family Resources Survey 2024/25, UK private households. DWP publishes no confidence intervals for these breakdowns; small groups have wider uncertainty.
  • From FYE 2022 HBAI links survey answers to DWP and HMRC records; earlier years are not comparable (DWP note 1).
  • Fifths rank people, not households: each fifth holds a fifth of individuals, so households in it differ in number and size.
  • Ethnic group is that of the head of household, and ethnic group and region rows are 3-year averages; their sizes are pooled and differ slightly from the latest-year total (DWP note 81).
  • Disability is self-reported limiting long-term illness or condition (DWP note 38).

How has this changed?

Share of people in the West Midlands in relative low income, after housing costs, 1994/95 to 1996/97 to 2022/23 to 2024/25
Survey-based evidence · Family Resources Survey, each year since 1994/950%10%20%30%1995/962000/012005/062010/112015/162020/21Break in series

West Midlands · everyone. Relative low income means a household income below 60% of the UK middle income that year. Each point is a three-year average, plotted at its first year.

  • Before the break, UK figures: 23.0% in 2002/03 to 2004/05 and 25.5% in 2018/19 to 2020/21: up 2.5 percentage points. Earlier years are for Great Britain only, so they are shown but not compared.
  • Since the break: 23.7% in 2021/22 to 2023/24 and 21.4% in 2022/23 to 2024/25: down 2.2 percentage points.

From 2021/22 DWP links survey answers to benefit and tax records, so the two parts of the line are not comparable and no change is worked out across the gap. Years before 2002/03 cover Great Britain only. Hollow markers are three-year windows that include years on both sides of the break.

Missing years

  • DWP does not publish 2020/21 below headline level because of pandemic sample quality (note 70).
Show the workings and sources
Share in relative low income, AHC: West Midlands and everyone
YearCoverageWest MidlandsEveryoneSeries
1994/95 to 1996/97Great Britain23.9%24.6%Before break
1995/96 to 1997/98Great Britain23.8%24.6%Before break
1996/97 to 1998/99Great Britain23.7%24.6%Before break
1997/98 to 1999/00Great Britain23.1%24.2%Before break
1998/99 to 2000/01Great Britain24.0%23.8%Before break
1999/00 to 2001/02Great Britain24.1%23.2%Before break
2000/01 to 2002/03Great Britain24.8%22.6%Before break
2001/02 to 2003/04Great Britain23.7%22.1%Before break
2002/03 to 2004/05United Kingdom23.0%21.3%Before break
2003/04 to 2005/06United Kingdom22.7%21.1%Before break
2004/05 to 2006/07United Kingdom23.5%21.4%Before break
2005/06 to 2007/08United Kingdom24.4%22.1%Before break
2006/07 to 2008/09United Kingdom24.7%22.3%Before break
2007/08 to 2009/10United Kingdom24.8%22.3%Before break
2008/09 to 2010/11United Kingdom24.6%21.8%Before break
2009/10 to 2011/12United Kingdom23.5%21.4%Before break
2010/11 to 2012/13United Kingdom22.6%21.0%Before break
2011/12 to 2013/14United Kingdom22.6%21.0%Before break
2012/13 to 2014/15United Kingdom23.0%21.0%Before break
2013/14 to 2015/16United Kingdom23.8%21.3%Before break
2014/15 to 2016/17United Kingdom23.8%21.6%Before break
2015/16 to 2017/18United Kingdom23.8%21.8%Before break
2016/17 to 2018/19United Kingdom23.8%21.9%Before break
2017/18 to 2019/20United Kingdom24.7%21.9%Before break
2018/19 to 2020/21United Kingdom25.5%22.0%Before break
2019/20 to 2021/22United Kingdomnot publishednot publishedSpans break
2020/21 to 2022/23United Kingdom25.8%20.3%Spans break
2021/22 to 2023/24United Kingdom23.7%19.9%Linked records
2022/23 to 2024/25United Kingdom21.4%19.7%Linked records

HBAI time-series Table 3.17ts. Row label as published: “West Midlands”. Published percentages from HBAI time-series Tables 3.10ts, 3.11ts, 3.12ts and 3.17ts, before and after housing costs. No change is calculated across the 2021/22 break, and 3-year windows that include years on both sides are flagged as spanning it.

  • Survey-based: Family Resources Survey, private households. DWP publishes no confidence intervals for these group series; year-to-year movements in small groups are often sampling noise.
  • Relative low income moves with the median: if middle incomes fall, fewer people can be below 60% of it without anyone being better off.
  • Telephone-only interviewing in 2020/21 and 2021/22, and mixed mode from 2022/23, changed who responded (DWP note 5).

Other groups

Income fifths: Lowest-income fifth · Second fifth · Middle fifth · Fourth fifth · Highest-income fifth

All groups · Income, low income and food

Built from official tables and checked by automated tests; it has not yet had independent analytical review. About these numbers.