Levels of Income

10.7 Household and personal incomes in the South West region are between 7% and 10% lower than those for England as a whole. This reflects lower than average wages and a greater than average reliance on pensions.

Table 10.1 Measures of Household and Personal Income, various years
Measure

South West (£)

England (£)
(1) Mean gross weekly household income, 2003/04-2005/06

568

610
(2) Mean gross total annual income of tax payers, 2004-05

20,900

23,300
Source: (1) Expenditure and Food Survey 2003/04 - 2005/06, Office for National Statistics (2) Survey of Personal Incomes 2004/05, Inland Revenue

    Further information is available from Family Spending 2006 and HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes.

    10.8 Inland Revenue and the Office for National Statistics both produce estimates of personal and household incomes, respectively, at the sub-regional level. Both sets of data reveal a clear pattern within the region, with incomes mostly highest in the north and east, but reducing the further south and west one travels.

    10.9 Personal incomes across the South West local authority areas, range from between 70% to 127% of the England average. Six areas – Cotswold, Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, Bath & North East Somerset and Stroud – have income levels in excess of the England average. Five districts – Penwith, Kerrier, Weymouth & Portland, Torbay and Restormel – have incomes at or below 75% of the England average.

    Figure 10.1 Mean Total Income of Taxpayers by Local Authority Area 2004-05, £ per year (Popup full image) 
    Fig_10.1_...pdf

    10.10 ONS estimates of household income at Middle Super Output Area level reveal a similar east to west trend, but also illustrate the fact that pockets of low income co-exist, sometimes adjoining areas of relative affluence. The proximity of affluence and deprivation ‘cheek by jowl’ can often serve to emphasise the contrast in fortunes, and can heighten residents' perception of exclusion.

    Figure 10.2 Average Total Weekly Household Income, Model Based Estimates at MSOA Level, 2004 05, £ per week (Popup full image) 
    Fig 10.2 Average Total Weekly Household Income, Model Based Estimates at MSOA Level, 2004 05, £ per week.pdf

    10.11 Generally, however, the extremes of low and high incomes are less pronounced in the South West, with the region having a more balanced income distribution compared with the other English regions. The South West has a lower than average proportion of individuals in the lower and top quintiles, 17% and 18% respectively, and a relatively even distribution across the middle income bands. This contrasts with areas such as the North East and London where the proportions of households on low and high incomes are more extreme.

    Figure 10.3 Quintile Distribution of Equivilised Household Income 2004/05 (before housing costs) (Popup full image) 
    Quintile Distribution of Equivilised Household Income 2004/05 (before housing costs)

    10.12 Even when adjusted to take account of housing costs, the distribution of income for households in the South West remains relatively even compared with other English regions. Low income households are commonly defined as those receiving less than 60% of the national median household income. According to this definition, the South West has just under 750,000 individuals (15% of the population) living in low income households; this rises to just under a million (19%) if housing costs are taken into account. When expressed as a percentage of the population, the incidence of low income in the South West is marginally lower than the England average (17% and 21%).

    Table 10.2 Prevalence of Low Income 2005/06 (percentage of population living in households earning below 60% of the national median income)
     

    South West

    England
    Before housing costs

    15

    17
    After housing costs

    19

    21
    Source: Households Below Average Income 2005/06, DWP

      DWP Family Resources Survey 2005-06