Personal wellbeing estimates by London borough (2021/22)
Living standards are not just about poverty, income and wealth. A wide range of other factors contribute to living standards and there is a large range of outcomes across London on many of these indicators. This indicator looks at the measures of well-being both in London and England before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Anxiety and life satisfaction are measured on a 0-10 scale, where 0 indicates low levels of anxiety and well-being, while 10 indicates high levels. As such, low anxiety scores indicate higher levels of well-being (lower anxiety), while low life satisfaction scores indicate lower levels of well-being.
In 2021/22, average well-being score in London (7.46) was lower than in England as a whole (7.55), with a substantial decrease in both scores compared to 2018/19 (7.58 and 7.71, respectively).
Most London boroughs score lower on life satisfaction in 2021/22 than they did in 2018/19, with the exception of Newham, Ealing, Harrow, Redbridge, Lewisham, Waltham Forest, Lambeth and Enfield.
Newham, Ealing and Harrow score the highest on life satisfaction with an average of 7.70 and 7.69 (for both Ealing and Harrow) respectively. All three boroughs have increased scores of life satisfaction from the 2018/19 levels.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Kensington and Chelsea and Greenwich have the lowest average life satisfaction, with a score of 7.18 and 7.24 respectively.
Personal anxiety estimates by London borough (2021/22)
The levels of anxiety are higher in 2021/22 than 2018/19 - continuing the trend seen in 2020/21. The average anxiety score increased from 3.10 to 3.28 in London and from 2.87 to 3.13 in England in 2021/22. While the levels of anxiety in London are still higher than the English average, the difference became smaller following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The London boroughs with the highest anxiety score in 2021/22 were Lambeth and Kingston upon Thames (3.92 and 3.87, respectively), while Tower Hamlets and Newham boasted the lowest anxiety scores (2.62 and 2.64). The majority of the boroughs experienced an increase in average anxiety between 2018/19 and 2021/22.
Note that comparisons across areas should be treated with a degree of caution due to differences in sample size. The average scores are meant as an indication of well-being and not as a direct measurement.