The income gap between London’s wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods has nearly doubled in three years, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Households in Leamouth, Tower Hamlets, had an average disposable income after tax of £107,600 in the financial year ending 2023, making it the highest-earning neighbourhood in London. Meanwhile, Southall West in Ealing recorded the capital’s lowest average at just under £31,700 a year.
The difference of £75,900 represents an 84 per cent increase from three years earlier, when the gap between the richest and poorest areas stood at £41,300.
The ONS data, which measures mean equivalised household disposable income before housing costs, shows stark contrasts across England and Wales. Income levels ranged from £20,800 to £107,600 across local areas in the financial year ending 2023.
Neighbouring Communities, Vastly Different Incomes
The statistics reveal extraordinary disparities even between adjacent neighbourhoods. Leamouth directly borders Poplar Central, one of the city’s poorer areas, where households had an average disposable income of £35,000—some £72,600 less than their neighbours.
Blackwall, which is linked to Poplar Central, recorded an average of £75,100, creating a gap of £40,100 between the two connected areas.
In Westminster, Church Street emerged as the fourth poorest neighbourhood in the capital with an average disposable income of £32,000 a year. It sits surrounded by some of London’s most affluent areas, including Bryanston & Dorset Square, where average household income reaches £61,000—nearly double that of Church Street.
Other nearby Westminster neighbourhoods show similarly elevated figures: Regent’s Park at £59,600, Little Venice at £58,100, and Paddington at £51,400 annually.
Capital Dominates National Wealth Rankings
The data reveals London’s overwhelming dominance in national income rankings. According to the ONS figures, 47 of the 50 local areas with the highest disposable household incomes in England and Wales are in the capital.
Almost half—45 per cent—of all London neighbourhoods fall within the top 10 per cent nationally for average disposable household income. In the South East, 14 per cent of neighbourhoods reach that top decile, whilst 8 per cent of areas in the East of England do so.
By contrast, the North East has no neighbourhoods in the top 10 per cent for disposable household income. Less than 1 per cent of neighbourhoods in Wales and Yorkshire and the Humber are in the highest income bracket.
In the North West, West Midlands and East Midlands, just 1 to 2 per cent of neighbourhoods reach the top decile.
Deprivation Concentrated in Midlands and North
The picture reverses at the lower end of the scale. Almost 23 per cent of neighbourhoods in both the North West and West Midlands lie in the bottom 10 per cent nationally for disposable household income, with 21 per cent of North East neighbourhoods also in this lowest decile.
The six lowest-earning neighbourhoods in the entire country are all in Birmingham. Sparkhill North has the very lowest average household income, followed by Sparkbrook South at £21,548.
Other Birmingham areas cluster at similar levels: Small Heath Park recorded £21,666, Saltley East £21,689, Washwood Heath £21,787, and Bordesley Green North £21,928.
London’s Wealthiest Areas
Butler’s Wharf & Queen’s Walk in Southwark takes second place in London with an average income of £100,879, followed by Tower Hill & Wapping South in Tower Hamlets at £77,442.
Blackwall, also in Tower Hamlets, ranks fourth at £75,140, whilst Herne Hill & Dulwich Park in Southwark comes fifth at £74,871.
The list of top earners includes traditional wealthy areas such as Marylebone & Park Lane in Westminster (£73,956), Kensington Abingdon (£69,133), and Notting Hill West (£68,266), alongside newer developments like Canary Wharf (£73,514) and East Village in Newham (£69,375).
Capital’s Poorest Neighbourhoods
Newham dominates the lower end of London’s income table, with eight of the capital’s 20 poorest neighbourhoods located in the borough. These include Plashet West (£31,855), Forest Gate South (£31,956), Manor Park South (£32,210), and East Ham Central (£33,490).
Ealing accounts for three entries, with Southall West at the bottom, followed by Southall Park (£32,480) and Southall Green East (£32,814).
Kensington and Chelsea, despite containing some of London’s wealthiest areas, also features two of the poorest neighbourhoods: Ladbroke Grove (£32,466) and Golborne & Swinbrook (£33,264).
Methodology
The figures come from small-area income estimates produced by the ONS, which publishes model-based estimates for local areas known as Middle layer Super Output Areas. These geographic units typically contain between 2,000 and 6,000 households.
Every two years, the ONS estimates combined household disposable income after income tax, National Insurance and council tax have been paid, then calculates mean income for each area.
An interactive map allows readers to look up average disposable income for their own local area using the ONS dataset.
