Education: every county council ranked by spend per resident
21 councils · median £639.53/person · mean £663.77/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lancashire | — | — | 1,294,914 | £1266.6m | £978.12 | +53% |
| 2 | Hampshire | — | — | 1,447,214 | £1375.9m | £950.72 | +49% |
| 3 | West Sussex | — | — | 915,037 | £741.4m | £810.29 | +27% |
| 4 | Hertfordshire | — | — | 1,236,191 | £967.2m | £782.40 | +22% |
| 5 | Kent | — | — | 1,639,029 | £1242.3m | £757.95 | +19% |
| 6 | Gloucestershire | — | — | 669,380 | £469.6m | £701.51 | +10% |
| 7 | Derbyshire | — | — | 822,377 | £576.3m | £700.73 | +10% |
| 8 | Warwickshire | — | — | 632,207 | £440.1m | £696.17 | +9% |
| 9 | Surrey | — | — | 1,248,649 | £854.5m | £684.35 | +7% |
| 10 | East Sussex | — | — | 560,882 | £366.8m | £653.95 | +2% |
| 11 | Worcestershire | — | — | 621,360 | £397.4m | £639.53 | 0% |
| 12 | Lincolnshire | — | — | 789,502 | £487.4m | £617.29 | -3% |
| 13 | Nottinghamshire | — | — | 857,013 | £513.3m | £598.89 | -6% |
| 14 | Norfolk | — | — | 940,359 | £551.8m | £586.84 | -8% |
| 15 | Devon | — | — | 842,313 | £494.0m | £586.50 | -8% |
| 16 | Oxfordshire | — | — | 763,218 | £436.2m | £571.58 | -11% |
| 17 | Cambridgeshire | — | — | 710,317 | £400.7m | £564.08 | -12% |
| 18 | Suffolk | — | — | 786,231 | £439.7m | £559.31 | -13% |
| 19 | Essex | — | — | 1,563,365 | £863.5m | £552.30 | -14% |
| 20 | Leicestershire | — | — | 745,573 | £359.6m | £482.26 | -25% |
| 21 | Staffordshire | — | — | 907,153 | £421.3m | £464.37 | -27% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the education bucket from each council’s 2024-25 Revenue Outturn (RO) submission to MHCLG, divided by ONS mid-year population. Higher per-head doesn’t imply waste — it can reflect demographic need (e.g. more older residents), rurality, or policy choice (e.g. retaining in-house services rather than contracting out). Lower per-head doesn’t imply efficiency — some councils have moved costs to fees, grants, or a ringfenced account.
Caveats. Councils under MHCLG suppression for 2024-25 don’t appear here (Birmingham, Slough, Cumberland and others — see their council card for the reason). Comparisons across the tier line don’t make sense, which is why this table is filtered to one council type at a time. Source: MHCLG Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing.