Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2025 results report - Income domain results

The purpose of this domain is to measure the proportion of people experiencing deprivation relating to low income. The domain has a relative weight of 22% in the overall index.

Figure 2.1: income domain indicator, WIMD 2025

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Description of figure 2.1: diagram showing which benefits are used to derive the income domain. The domain has one indicator made up of several components, giving a snapshot of people in receipt of income-related benefits and tax credits and supported asylum seekers.

It uses non-overlapping counts of means-tested claimants, and applies an income threshold to working households. The summed counts are then expressed as a percentage of the estimated total population for the Lower layer Super Output Area (LSOA).

The domain numerator captures the following categories of claimant, their partners and dependent children, as of end March 2024:

• ‘Legacy’ out-of-work means-tested benefits:
  • income support
  • income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit (Guarantee)
• Universal Credit (UC) ‘out of work’ conditionality groups, including:
  • no work requirements
  • planning for work
  • preparing for work
  • searching for work
• UC ‘in work’ conditionality groups (with income after housing costs below a 70% median threshold) including:
  • working with requirements
  • working, no requirements
• Housing Benefit, with income after housing costs below a 70% median threshold
• Tax Credit, with income after housing costs below a 70% median threshold
• Asylum seekers in dispersed accommodation in receipt of support

Full details on the indicator and construction of the domain is available in the WIMD 2025 technical report.

Figure 2.2: map of LSOAs shaded by income deprivation group, WIMD 2025

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© Crown copyright 2025. Cartographics. Welsh Government.

Description of figure 2.2: the map shows that in the WIMD 2025 income domain, there were pockets of high income deprivation in the South Wales valleys and large cities, and in some North Wales coastal towns. 

• All local authorities except Monmouthshire had at least some areas with over 46% of people in income deprivation, equivalent to being in the most deprived 10% of areas.
• The local authorities with the highest proportion of areas in the most deprived 10% were Blaenau Gwent (at 22%) followed by Cardiff and Newport (both at 18%).
• The overall patterns of income deprivation in WIMD 2025 are broadly like those for WIMD 2019.
• For the income domain, the most deprived area in Wales was Rhyl West 2, Denbighshire (around Rhyl High Street), the same as for WIMD 2019 and WIMD 2014.
• Six of the 10 most deprived areas in WIMD 2025 were also in the 10 most deprived areas in WIMD 2019.
• Over a fifth or 22% of people who are income deprived live in the most deprived 10% of small areas for the income domain (the areas ranked 1 to 191).
• Half of those who are income deprived live in the most deprived 29% of areas for the income domain.
• Across Wales, 25% of people are in income deprivation.
• The percentage of people who are income deprived within the most deprived 10% of areas varies a lot, from 88% in Rhyl West 2, to 46% for Neath South 1, the area ranked 191. 

The full set of domain ranks from WIMD 2025 and the underlying indicators can be downloaded from our StatsWales web pages.

More information on the distribution of the income deprived population in WIMD 2025 can be found in the WIMD 2025 guidance report.

The introduction of Universal Credit (UC) has significantly influenced how income deprivation is measured in WIMD. This has led to the adoption of new indicators developed by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) that reflect policy and data changes. This updated method includes a 70% of median income after housing costs threshold. The income deprivation indicator is therefore not directly comparable with that for WIMD 2019. For full information on how the domain has changed since 2019 see the WIMD 2025 technical report, and the English indices of deprivation technical report (MHCLG).

The table shows the percentage of small areas (LSOAs) in each of the deprivation groups for WIMD 2019 that have stayed or moved group in WIMD 2025. 

For an explanation of how we have treated the minority of areas that changed boundary, and the ranks counted in each category for WIMD 2019 and WIMD 2025, please see the guidance report.

The diagonal (top left to bottom right), shows the percentage of areas which have remained in the same deprivation group. Above the diagonal are percentages of areas which have moved from a more to a less deprived group. Below the diagonal are the percentages of areas which have moved from a less to a more deprived group.

The table shows that:

• most LSOAs remained in the same deprivation group between 2019 and 2025
• of the small areas ranked in the 10% most deprived in 2019, 82% remained in that group in 2025
• of the small areas ranked in the 50% least deprived in 2019, 92% remained in that group in 2025 

Only 3 LSOAs moved by more than 2 deprivation groups. Below we focus on the 2 that have moved in or out of the 10% most deprived.

More deprived

One area has moved from the 30% to 50% most deprived group in WIMD 2019 to the 10% most deprived group in WIMD 2025 (Tredegar Park 4 in Newport). This LSOA has changed boundary since WIMD 2019, when it was grouped with what is now Tredegar Park 3 (in the least deprived half for income deprivation)

Less deprived

One area has moved from the 10% most deprived group in WIMD 2019 to the 30% to 50% most deprived group in WIMD 2025. This was Plasnewydd 7 in Cardiff, an area close to the city centre including the junction of City Road and Newport Road.

Figure 2.3: box plot of WIMD 2025 income domain ranks, by local authority

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Description of figure 2.3: the chart shows the spread of income domain ranks for each local authority in Wales. The blue boxes contain half the total number of small areas (LSOAs) in each local authority, centred on the median (middle) rank for each local authority and the ‘whiskers’ show the full range of ranks within the local authority. Deprivation increases with decreasing rank (that is, towards the left-hand side of the plot). 

The spread of income domain ranks is greatest in Swansea and Cardiff, and narrowest in Isle of Anglesey and Powys. Monmouthshire has the highest median rank (less deprived) and Blaenau Gwent has the lowest (more deprived).

Concentrations of income deprived areas, by local authority

One way of considering WIMD data at the local authority level is to look at the proportion of areas within the local authority that are in the most deprived 10% (or 20% etc) of all areas. This method can be seen as identifying the concentration of the most deprived areas in a local authority, rather than an average level of deprivation.

The WIMD 2025 income domain results show that:

• the local authority with the highest proportion of areas in the most deprived 10% in Wales was Blaenau Gwent (22% or 10 areas) followed by Cardiff and Newport (both 18%)
• Monmouthshire had no small areas in the most deprived 10%, followed by Powys and Ceredigion with only one each of their areas
• Monmouthshire and Powys were also the local authorities with the lowest concentrations of areas in the most deprived half of Wales, at 26% and 28% respectively
• Blaenau Gwent and Merthyr Tydfil had the highest percentage of areas in the most deprived 50%, at 74% and 72% respectively

Concentrations of WIMD 2025 income deprived areas, by local authority on StatsWales.

Income deprivation for children and older people

Two additional indicators were created for WIMD 2025, which are subsets of the income deprivation indicator. These are income deprivation for children (aged 0 to 15) and income deprivation for older people (aged 60 or over). Both are published on StatsWales.

Data for England and Wales

We will continue to work with the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and other devolved governments to explore opportunities to produce harmonised outputs. Release plans will be announced on GOV.UK in due course.

Benefit statistics

The Department for Work and Pension’s dissemination tool Stat-Xplore (DWP) allows you to download and customise benefit statistics, including local area data and time series. 

Modelled income estimates

The Office for National Statistics’ small area model-based income estimates (ONS), modelled from survey data, are available down to middle-layer super output area (MSOA) level.

Households below average income data

DWP publish a dataset on households below average income (DWP). Based on that data we publish analysis of poverty in Wales, with various breakdowns. The data cannot be broken down below Wales level due to limitations in sample size. 

Admin-based income statistics

We will continue to review progress in developing the Office for National Statistics (ONS) experimental admin-based income statistics for England and Wales (ABIS) for potential use in future indices. A recent research paper provides information on the strengths and limitations of the current ABIS, and the direction of travel for future development (ONS).

Employee earnings estimates

ONS publishes estimates of employee earnings based on data from the annual survey of hours and earnings (ONS). These are the most robust and comprehensive source of earnings data for the UK; however estimates are not available below local authority level, the data are only a subset of all sources of income, and they do not cover the self-employed.