Additional regional data on child poverty in the South West of England

17 Mar 2026

This data insight explores additional regional detail on child poverty in the South West of England, bringing together long-term trends, income distribution, and differences across age groups to provide a fuller picture of how poverty is experienced in the region. These indicators focus on patterns such as how poverty rates compare with working-age adults and pensioners, and how children are disproportionately concentrated in lower-income households.

The South West region is one of 12 International Territorial Level 1 areas (ITL1) in the UK. It comprises Gloucestershire and Wiltshire; West of England; North Somerset, Somerset and Dorset; Devon; and Cornwall and Isles of Scilly.

The data is sourced from the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) Households Below Average Income (HBAI) dataset, which is derived from the Family Resources Survey (FRS). Regional estimates are published as three-year averages to improve reliability. Poverty is defined as the proportion of individuals living in households with incomes below 60% of the UK median income, measured after housing costs (AHC).

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Absolute poverty in the South West fell between the mid-1990s (50.1%) and 2023/24 (21.5%)

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Children in the UK (26.2%) live in the bottom income quintile, compared with 21.9% in the South West

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Child poverty fell in the South West between the mid-1990s (30.9%) and 2011/12 (24.2%)

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Relative child poverty rose from 24.2% in 2011/12 to 26.8% in 2023/24

Long term trends in South West child poverty

This visualisation shows long-term trends in relative child poverty (after housing costs; AHC) in the South West of England. Comparisons are made with the UK averages from the mid-1990s to 2023/24. It indicates that child poverty AHC follows a shared national trajectory, with the South West closely tracking the UK trend over time.

Across both areas, rates were highest in 1994/95-1996/97 (around 31-33%). They then declined steadily throughout the 2000s, reaching a low point in the early 2010s at around 24% in the South West and 27% in the UK.

The trend has reversed since 2012, with child poverty rising again in both regions. The UK has experienced a greater increase, reaching 30.3% in 2023/24, while the South West has risen more moderately to 26.8%.

Importantly, the South West consistently records lower child poverty rates than the UK average and the gap has widened slightly in recent years. This suggests that while the region performs comparatively better, it is still affected by the same structural pressures influencing national child poverty levels.

Relative and absolute child poverty trends in the South West of England

This visualisation shows that relative and absolute child poverty follow different long-term trends, even though both declined significantly from the mid-1990s.

In the late 1990s, absolute poverty was higher (around 50%) than relative poverty (around 31%), indicating a large proportion of children were below a fixed real-term income threshold. Through the 2000s, both measures fell, but absolute poverty declined more sharply, suggesting substantial real improvements in household incomes at the lower end of the income distribution.

From the early 2010s onwards, the trends diverge: relative poverty rises while absolute poverty remains lower and broadly stable.

Child, working-age adult and pensioner poverty trends after housing costs (AHC) in the South West of England, 1994/95-2023/24

This visualisation shows the long-term trend in relative poverty AHC for children, working-age adults and pensioners in the South West from the mid-1990s to 2023/24.

Child poverty rates were highest in the mid-to-late 1990s (around 31-32%), then declined consistently through the 2000s, reaching a low point of 24.2% in 2011/12. However, since the early 2010s, the trend has reversed, with child poverty rising again to 26.8% in 2023/24, pointing to sustained pressure over the decade prior.

Compared to working-age adults and pensioners, children remain the most affected group throughout the period, and the gap between children and pensioners has widened over time. While pensioner poverty fell sharply and remains relatively low, child poverty has not returned to the low rate recorded in the early 2010s, suggesting that families with children are experiencing greater income strain.

Age group household income profiles

This visualisation shows the distribution of household income for children, working-age adults and pensioners in the South West, 2021/22-2023/24. Comparisons are made with the UK averages for context. It indicates that children are concentrated in lower-income households compared with other age groups both in the South West and the UK, which helps to explain higher rates of children living in poverty than adults.

In the UK, 26.2% of children are in the bottom income quintile, compared with 21.9% in the South West. Although the South West performs slightly better, over 49% of South West children are still in the bottom two quintiles combined, showing that nearly half of children live in relatively low-income households.

By contrast, working-age adults are more represented in the top quintile (around 23-24% in both geographies), while children are less likely to be in the highest income group (around 14-15%).