Inequality
The gap between the richest and poorest in London
Key findings
50%
of London's wealth is owned by the richest 10% of its households. The bottom 50% own just over 5%.
8x
greater is the income of someone just in the top 10% in London in comparison to someone just in the bottom 10%.
Overview
Inequality explains the incongruence between two pictures of London: one of the booming centre of global finance and home to many of the world’s rich, and the other of a city with high levels of poverty and deprivation.
Income inequality is significantly greater in London than elsewhere in England. In the three years to 2015/2016, the income of someone just inside the top 10% was eight times higher than someone just inside the bottom 10% of earners, and the top 10% earned more than the bottom 50%. However, the lowest 10% of earners have seen their wages increase since 2011, while median earners and the top 10% have experienced declines.
Wealth inequality is far wider than income inequality in London. 50% of London’s wealth is earned by the richest 10% of its households, while the bottom 50% own just over 5%. And someone just inside the top 10% in terms of wealth owns 295 times more than someone just inside the bottom 10%. This trend is becoming more extreme in London, with the least wealthy 10% of people losing 32% of their wealth over the last two years, compared to a 2% drop across Great Britain. Meanwhile, the wealth of the top 10% in London has increased by 25%.
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From our Twitter
@povertylondon
24% of Year 6 pupils in Croydon are obese. This is similar to the London-wide average, but higher than the rest of England average of 20%. pic.twitter.com/z2XJwJsNfR
23 Jun 2018Just over 1 in 6 Croydon residents placed in temporary accommodation are placed outside of their borough. Across London, this rate is over a third. pic.twitter.com/qOcZCQF9uh
22 Jun 20189.4% of 16-24 year olds were unemployed in 2016, compared to 3.6% of 25-64 year olds. https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/topics/worklessness/ …
22 Jun 201821.5% of Croydon residents are living in poverty. Though this is better than the London average, it still represents over 1 in 5 people in the borough. pic.twitter.com/os1Ah09Alv
21 Jun 201858% of Londoners in poverty are from a working family. This is up from 44% a decade ago. https://www.trustforlondon.org.uk/data/topics/low-income/ …
21 Jun 2018