Persistent low income
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (before housing costs) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity (after housing costs) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs) section
- 7. Navigate to Entering low income (before and after housing costs) section
- 8. Navigate to Leaving low income (before and after housing costs) section
- 9. Navigate toData sources section
- 10. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- between 2017 and 2021, people in households in the ‘other’ ethnic group were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be in persistent low income both before housing costs (29%) and after housing costs (45%) – this data is based on a small number of respondents and may be less reliable as a result
- people in households in the mixed (17%) and Asian (15%) ethnic groups were the next most likely to be in persistent low income before housing costs
- people in households in the black (27%), Asian (19%) and mixed (19%) ethnic groups were the next most likely to be in persistent low income after housing costs
- people in white households were least likely to be in persistent low income, both before and after housing costs
- out of all age groups for white British people, pensioners were more likely to be in persistent low income before housing costs.
- in every ethnic group, children were the most likely out of all age groups to be in persistent low income after housing costs
- people in households in the mixed ethnic group were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to enter low income – both before housing costs (12%) and after housing costs (16%)
- out of all ethnic groups, the biggest differences in the percentage of people leaving low income before and after housing costs were for households in the ‘other’ ethnic group (33% and 15%) and the white ‘other’ ethnic group (53% and 39%).
Further research:
According to a parliamentary research report on Poverty in the UK, based on the Households below average income statistics, relative low income rates are highest for people in households in the Pakistani or Bangladeshi ethnic group. Rates are lowest in white households.
In Measuring Poverty 2020, the Social Metrics Commission proposed measuring poverty according to how much someone’s resources meet their needs. This would account for differences between households such as childcare costs, and access to savings and assets. In March 2023, the Department for Work and Pensions announced plans to develop an experimental measure of poverty.
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the percentage of people living in households in the UK that are in persistent low income before and after housing costs.
The data uses the total income brought into the household on a weekly basis by everyone who lives there, after tax, National Insurance and other deductions. Housing costs include rent and mortgage interest payments.
Households are in low income if they live on less than 60% of the median income. According to the Income Dynamics data, median income (before housing costs) was £30,316 per annum for a couple with no children in the period from January 2020 to December 2021.Persistent low income means the household had low income for at least 3 out of 4 consecutive survey interviews between January 2017 and December 2021.
Low income entry and exit rates are percentages of households who move into or out of low income across 2 survey waves. Because sample sizes in each 2-wave period are small, the rates presented here are the average across 3 of those 2-wave periods. Read more about how income is measured.
The data relates to households of either one person or a group of people sharing cooking facilities and a living room or dining area. It must be their main or only home.
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.
Not included in the data
Data based on fewer than 100 responses have not been included. Percentages less than 0.5% have been suppressed. This is to protect people’s confidentiality.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Data is shown for 6 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- black
- mixed
- white British
- white other
- other
Some households contain people from different ethnic backgrounds. The ethnicity assigned to the household is that of the ‘household reference person' – usually the person with the highest income. The data does not account for people of different ethnic backgrounds who live in the same household.
The data for people with unknown ethnicity is presented separately.
Methodology
Read the Income Dynamics Background information and methodology note for more information about the data on this page.
Household incomes are adjusted (or ‘equivalised’) to take into account the number of adults and children who live there.
There is large regional variation in ethnic minority populations. There is also regional variation in housing costs. This may mean that some households have bigger differences in their income before and after housing costs than others.
The figures on this page are based on survey data.
Find out more about:
- interpreting survey data, including how reliability is affected by the number of people surveyed
- how weighting is used to make survey data more representative of the whole group being studied
In the data file
See Download the data for:
- January 2010 to December 2021
- persistent low income estimates based on both 60% and 70% of median income
- persistent low income estimates before and after housing costs
- entries and exits into low income, before and after housing costs
3. By ethnicity (before housing costs)
| Ethnicity | % | Number of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 9 | 25,001 |
| Asian | 15 | 2,539 |
| Black | 10 | 861 |
| Mixed | 17 | 321 |
| White | 8 | 20,612 |
| White British | 8 | 19,487 |
| White other | 7 | 1,125 |
| Other | 29 | 145 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 523 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (before housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (before housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income By ethnicity (before housing costs) Summary
The data for people in mixed and ‘other’ ethnic group households is less reliable as it is based on a smaller number of people surveyed.
The data shows that, before housing costs such as rent or mortgage payments:
- 9% of all people were in persistent low income
- 29% of people in households in the ‘other’ ethnic group were in persistent low income – the highest percentages out of all ethnic groups
- 8% of people in white households were in persistent low income – the lowest percentage
- 17% of people in households in the mixed ethnic group and 15% of people in Asian households were in persistent low income
4. By ethnicity (after housing costs)
| Ethnicity | % | Number of respondents |
|---|---|---|
| All | 12 | 25,001 |
| Asian | 19 | 2,539 |
| Black | 27 | 861 |
| Mixed | 19 | 321 |
| White | 12 | 20,612 |
| White British | 12 | 19,487 |
| White other | 13 | 1,125 |
| Other | 45 | 145 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 523 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income By ethnicity (after housing costs) Summary
The data for people in mixed and ‘other’ ethnic group households is less reliable as it is based on a smaller number of people surveyed.
The data shows that, after housing costs:
- 12.0% of all people were in persistent low income
- 45% of people in households in the ‘other’ ethnic group were in persistent low income, followed by 27% of people in black households – the highest percentages out of all ethnic groups
- 12% of people in white households were in persistent low income – the lowest percentage out of all ethnic groups
5. By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)
| All | Children | Pensioners | Working-age adults | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | All % | All Number of respondents | Children % | Children Number of respondents | Pensioners % | Pensioners Number of respondents | Working-age adults % | Working-age adults Number of respondents |
| All | 9 | 25,001 | 10 | 5,329 | 11 | 5,752 | 7 | 13,920 |
| Asian | 15 | 2,539 | 22 | 859 | 12 | 188 | 12 | 1,492 |
| Black | 10 | 861 | 12 | 255 | 7 | 100 | 10 | 506 |
| Mixed | 17 | 321 | 21 | 101 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 25 | 15 | 195 |
| White | 8 | 20,612 | 9 | 3,970 | 11 | 5,322 | 7 | 11,320 |
| White British | 8 | 19,487 | 9 | 3,701 | 11 | 5,148 | 7 | 10,638 |
| White other | 7 | 1,125 | 10 | 269 | 7 | 174 | 5 | 682 |
| Other | 29 | 145 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 49 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 12 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 84 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 523 | N/A* | 95 | N/A* | 105 | N/A* | 323 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income By ethnicity and age group (before housing costs) Summary
Data is not shown for some ethnic groups if the numbers surveyed are too small to be reliable.
The data shows that, before housing costs:
- among children, those in Asian households (22%) were the most likely to be in persistent low income, followed by those in households in the mixed ethnic group (21%)
- children in white households (9%) were the least likely to be in persistent low income
- among working-age adults, those in households in the Asian (12%) and mixed (15%) ethnic groups were more likely to be in persistent low income than those in white households (7%)
- among pensioners, 11% of those in white households were living in persistent low income
6. By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)
| All | Children | Pensioners | Working-age adults | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | All % | All Number of respondents | Children % | Children Number of respondents | Pensioners % | Pensioners Number of respondents | Working-age adults % | Working-age adults Number of respondents |
| All | 12 | 25,001 | 19 | 5,329 | 10 | 5,752 | 11 | 13,920 |
| Asian | 19 | 2,539 | 26 | 859 | 8 | 188 | 17 | 1,492 |
| Black | 27 | 861 | 32 | 255 | 24 | 100 | 24 | 506 |
| Mixed | 19 | 321 | 21 | 101 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 25 | 19 | 195 |
| White | 12 | 20,612 | 17 | 3,970 | 10 | 5,322 | 10 | 11,320 |
| White British | 12 | 19,487 | 17 | 3,701 | 10 | 5,148 | 10 | 10,638 |
| White other | 13 | 1,125 | 22 | 269 | 12 | 174 | 9 | 682 |
| Other | 45 | 145 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 49 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 12 | withheld to protect confidentiality | 84 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 523 | N/A* | 95 | N/A* | 105 | N/A* | 323 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income By ethnicity and age group (after housing costs) Summary
Data is not shown for some ethnic groups if the numbers surveyed are too small to be reliable.
The data shows that, after housing costs:
- among children, those in black (32%) and Asian (26%) households were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to be in persistent low income
- children in households in the white ‘other’ ethnic group (22%) were more likely to be in persistent low income than those in white British households (17%)
- among working-age adults, those in black (24%), mixed (19%), and Asian (17%) households were more likely to be in persistent low income than those in white households (10%)
- among pensioners, those living in black households (24%) were the most likely to be in persistent low income, and those in Asian households (8%) were the least likely
7. Entering low income (before and after housing costs)
| After Housing Costs | Before Housing Costs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | After Housing Costs % | After Housing Costs Number of respondents | Before Housing Costs % | Before Housing Costs Number of respondents |
| All | 8 | 71,558 | 6 | 73,799 |
| Asian | 14 | 6,156 | 11 | 6,655 |
| Black | 14 | 2,258 | 10 | 2,596 |
| Mixed | 16 | 838 | 12 | 903 |
| White | 7 | 60,093 | 6 | 61,334 |
| White British | 7 | 56,686 | 6 | 57,755 |
| White other | 11 | 3,407 | 8 | 3,579 |
| Other | 12 | 333 | 10 | 412 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 1,880 | N/A* | 1,899 |
Download table data for ‘Entering low income (before and after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Entering low income (before and after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income Entering low income (before and after housing costs) Summary
A person enters low income if they move from not being in low income in one survey period to being in low income in the next survey period. The data shows average rates of entry into low income for surveys between January 2017 and December 2021.
The data shows that:
- people in mixed (12%) and Asian households (11%) were the most likely to enter into low income before housing costs out of all ethnic groups
- people in mixed (16%), black (14%) and Asian households (14%) were the most likely to enter into low income after housing costs
- people in white households were least likely to enter into low income both before housing costs (6%) and after housing costs (7%)
8. Leaving low income (before and after housing costs)
| After Housing Costs | Before Housing Costs | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | After Housing Costs % | After Housing Costs Number of respondents | Before Housing Costs % | Before Housing Costs Number of respondents |
| All | 36 | 16,144 | 40 | 13,903 |
| Asian | 35 | 3,642 | 39 | 3,143 |
| Black | 32 | 1,096 | 43 | 758 |
| Mixed | 47 | 319 | 50 | 254 |
| White | 36 | 10,666 | 39 | 9,425 |
| White British | 36 | 9,881 | 39 | 8,812 |
| White other | 39 | 785 | 53 | 613 |
| Other | 15 | 233 | 33 | 154 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 188 | N/A* | 169 |
Download table data for ‘Leaving low income (before and after housing costs)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘Leaving low income (before and after housing costs)’ (CSV)
Summary of Persistent low income Leaving low income (before and after housing costs) Summary
A person leaves low income if they move from being in low income in one survey period to not being in low income in the next survey period. The data shows average rates of leaving low income for surveys between January 2017 and December 2021.
The data shows that:
- across all ethnic groups, people had a higher chance of leaving before housing costs low income than after housing costs low income
- the biggest difference in the percentage of people leaving low income before and after housing costs was in households in the ‘other’ ethnic group (33% and 15%) and the white ‘other’ ethnic group (53% and 39%)
- 53% of people in households in the 'other' white ethnic group left low income before housing costs, followed by 50% of people in mixed households
- people in mixed households (47%) were the most likely out of all ethnic groups to leave low income after housing costs
- people in households in the ‘other’ ethnic group were the least likely to leave low income both before (15%) and after (33%) housing costs – this data is based on a small number of respondents and is less reliable as a result
9. Data sources
Source
Type of data
Survey data
Type of statistic
Official statistics
Publisher
Department for Work and Pensions
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Income Dynamics statistics are designed to report on income movements and the persistence of low income for children, working-age adults, and pensioners in the UK.
Reporting on persistent low income rates for children is required under UK law.
Income Dynamics statistics complement Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics by providing measures which are based on household income over time. This is because Income Dynamics are based on Understanding Society (USoc) data, a longitudinal survey run by the University of Essex.
Income Dynamics statistics also includes analysis of movements across the income distribution, including low income entry and exit rates.
10. Download the data
This file contains the following: measures, time, time_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography_code, geography, gender, age_bracket, value, denominator, numerator, upper confidence interval, lower confidence interval
This file contains the following: measures, time, time_type, ethnicity, ethnicity_type, geography_code, geography, gender, age_bracket, age_bracket_type, value, denominator, numerator, upper confidence interval, lower confidence interval