There isn't one single "poorest city," but rather areas identified as most deprived by the English Indices of Deprivation; recent data (2025) points to Jaywick (a village, not a city) in Essex as England's most deprived neighborhood, with areas in Blackpool, Middlesbrough, Hull, Liverpool, and Manchester also frequently cited as having the poorest areas, often former industrial or coastal towns facing economic challenges.
Middlesbrough, Birmingham, Hartlepool, Kingston upon Hull and Manchester are the Local Authority Districts with the highest proportions of neighbourhoods among the most deprived in England. Two London boroughs (Tower Hamlets and Hackney) rank as the most deprived regarding income deprivation among children.
Poverty risk also varies across UK nations and regions, with the highest rates in the West Midlands, inner London and North West England, and considerably lower rates in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Eastern England.
The lowest income areas were mostly urban areas in the Midlands, North West, North East, and Yorkshire and The Humber. These include Manchester, Birmingham and Nottingham — major UK cities with household income among the lowest in the country, even though their levels of productivity are closer to the national average.
In the United States (in 2017), the place with the lowest median household income was Little River, California (population 117), while the place with the lowest median household income with a population of more than 1,000 was Comerío Zona Urbana in Comerío, Puerto Rico (population 4,312).
Theorists suggest the poorest city in the world is in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia. The population of Liberia is currently 4,294,000 and is one of the least populated countries in Africa. It is considered the fifth poorest country, despite being the oldest independent country.
Middlesbrough is the UK's most affordable city
Scoring 6.51/10, it ranks lowest for house prices, rent, and overall living costs, making it the most budget-friendly place to live.
According to Drew, the average household income in the area is over £28,000. Constructed in the 1930s as a holiday resort for Londoners, Jaywick has been officially designated as the most deprived area in the country over time.
It's Jaywick again. For the fourth time in a row the tiny, apparently unprepossessing seaside village overlooking the north sea just down the coast from Clacton in Essex has reluctantly claimed the unenviable title of England's most deprived neighbourhood.
2021 or latest data
The OECD's estimate for the overall rate of poverty in Australia according to this graph is 12.6% (compared with our estimate for 2019-20 of 13.4%). This makes Australia's poverty rate the 15th highest among the 38 OECD countries.
South Sudan is widely considered the poorest country in the world in 2025-2026, consistently ranking first due to extremely low GDP per capita and a high percentage (over 80%) of its population living in extreme poverty, driven by prolonged civil conflict, displacement, and disruption of its agricultural economy. Other nations frequently cited as among the poorest include Burundi, the Central African Republic, and Yemen, also suffering from conflict and instability.
Households with an income of less than £296 a week are considered to be in relative low income, according to the latest Government statistics. The report shows that the mean UK household income is £594 per week.
Caribbean and African households are often poorer than white households, but Pakistanis and Bangladeshis are easily the poorest groups in Britain, and depend very heavily on means-tested benefits.
England's most deprived areas named - see how your area is affected
It was constructed in the 1930s as a holiday resort for Londoners but has, over time, been officially named the most deprived area in the country. The land on which the village is built was originally fields and salt marsh unsuitable for agriculture.
Wales. Poverty within the UK is particularly concentrated in Wales.
As of recent studies, Cornwall ranks among the most deprived areas in England, with 17 of its neighborhoods classified in the top 10% for deprivation nationally. Child poverty remains a serious issue, with nearly 30% of children living in poverty, among the highest rates in the South West.
A market town known as the gateway to the Yorkshire Dales has been named as the "happiest place" to live in the UK, according to a survey. Skipton was praised for its access to nature and green spaces, the friendliness of residents and access to essential services, such as schools.
Depending where you are in the country, you can buy properties for £60k or £70k, in parts of Yorkshire and and further north. In some areas of Scotland you can buy them for under £50k, so if you're doing a 25% deposit, you can buy multiple houses. Properties around the £100k mark are more common for most.
Anyone legally residing in the United Kingdom is entitled to free NHS healthcare. You do not have to be a British citizen or employed to be part of the system – though you may pay an immigration health surcharge. Some foreigners and visitors in the U.K. can receive some treatment.
But despite the economic uptick of recent years, Tasmania is still the poorest Australian state.
Here's the full top 10 most polluted capital cities:
South Africa is the only country that has three capital cities, namely, Pretoria as the administrative and the executive capital, Cape Town as the legislative capital and Bloemfontein as its judicial capital.
The richest country by GDP (PPP) per capita is often cited as Singapore, followed closely by Luxembourg, depending on the specific report and year, with Singapore leading in 2025 estimates with around $156,000-$157,000 per person, while Luxembourg is a strong contender just below that, highlighting small, finance-heavy economies as wealthiest per person.