How disposable earnings has climbed in some areas however dropped in others: Where does YOUR city rank?

People in eleven towns and cities saw their disposable income rise twice as fast as the rest of the UK over a decade, a report has found.

It reveals a wide discrepancy in disposable income growth across the UK’s 63 largest towns and cities.

The best-performing area was Blackburn, Lancashire, where disposable income went up by 11.7 per cent on average between 2013 and 2023. 

Mansfield in Nottinghamshire followed with a rise of 8.3 per cent, and Brighton in East Sussex came in third place with a rise of 8.1 per cent.

The rest of the top eleven were Worthing in West Sussex, London, Barnsley in South Yorkshire, Warrington in Cheshire, Newport in Wales, Luton in Bedfordshire, Wakefield in West Yorkshire and Bristol. 

At the other end of the scale, people living in Aberdeen, Scotland, saw their total disposable income shrink by 18.8 per cent. 

Aberdeen’s economy is unique as it is strongly tied to the fortunes of the North Sea oil industry, with the drop in disposable income blamed on falling oil and gas prices. The area’s economy declined by a similar level of 18.1 per cent over the period. 

The three places with the next-biggest falls in disposable incomes were Cambridge, Exeter and Dundee, all of which witnessed a much lower drop of 3 per cent. 

The report estimates Aberdonians would have been £34,700 better off per person over the decade, had income growth matched that of the UK’s top-performing cities. 

Fifteen other cities recorded a decline, but on average, disposable incomes increased by only 2.4 per cent across the UK.

The report, which was published by the thinktank Centre for Cities, argues that in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, many cities and towns’ incomes have stagnated.

It states that across the country, deprivation has persisted, and living standards have become disconnected from economic growth.

But it added that a handful of top-performing cities have bucked the trend and achieved ‘greater prosperity’ by expanding local economies and raising incomes.

They all focused on building a strong local business base with higher-skilled jobs in productive sectors.

These included ‘tradeable’ industries, such as software, marketing and finance, which can be sold to markets outside the local area.

Centre for Cities argues that central and local Government in the past have too often focused on piecemeal actions to improve the cost of living, such as capping bus fares or providing money for energy bills, rather than focusing on economic growth. 

Andrew Carter, chief executive of Centre for Cities, said: ‘It is understandable that the Government has shifted its emphasis onto the cost of living in recent weeks, but ultimately it is stronger economic growth that raises household incomes. 

‘Without growth, cost-of-living fixes can only ever be temporary.

‘Nationally, the last decade has delivered the same amount of growth in living standards as we typically experienced in a single year prior to 2008.

‘In places like Warrington and Barnsley, economic growth has translated into higher household incomes and less deprivation. That isn’t accidental: it is shaped by policy choices on skills, transport, housing, and support for businesses.’ 

The 42-page report outlines the example of Barnsley, which has effectively used its M1 corridor location to become a logistics hub.

The council has helped by opening up industrial land around motorway junctions to help activity in this space grow. Since 2015, the town has added 6,000 more private service jobs, a third of which are high-skilled jobs. 

The report highlights three key areas needed to deliver fast growth in living standards, the first of which is improving the local economy, especially by focusing on growing ‘cutting-edge’ industries.

The second is giving households better access to the opportunities of growth by encouraging more people into work, providing skills support, and improving transport links. 

And the third is reducing constraints on housing and commercial space so growing places can reach their potential. 

It said the Government should support these efforts through its industrial strategy by quickening the pace of planning reform to ensure that places with high growth potential are not constrained, and residents are not squeezed by high housing costs. 

Mr Carter added: ‘The Government’s planning reforms, devolution agenda and industrial strategy are crucial for supporting growth in cities and delivering better living standards year after year. 

‘Cities need to support more jobs in the new economy – in sectors backed by the Industrial Strategy like life sciences, digital and AI. 

‘These jobs cluster in urban areas and generate benefits for those working in the ‘everyday economy’, too.

‘As the Prime Minister has said, 2026 needs to be the year that ‘politics shows it can help again’. The test, at the end of this year, will be whether we are seeing more jobs, higher wages, and stronger local growth in more places across the country.’

Centre for Cities is the leading independent think tank dedicated to improving the economies of the UK’s largest cities and towns. 

It is a charity that works with local authorities, business and Whitehall to develop and implement policy that supports the performance of urban economies.