Education: every metropolitan borough ranked by spend per resident
35 councils · median £839.89/person · mean £813.84/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Knowsley | Ind | 162,565 | £183.1m | £1126.55 | +34% | |
| 2 | South Tyneside | Ref | — | 151,393 | £164.2m | £1084.52 | +29% |
| 3 | North Tyneside | Ref | 215,025 | £230.8m | £1073.39 | +28% | |
| 4 | Liverpool | Lab | 508,961 | £544.6m | £1070.08 | +27% | |
| 5 | Rochdale | Ref | 235,561 | £237.6m | £1008.51 | +20% | |
| 6 | Salford | Ref | 294,348 | £288.8m | £981.30 | +17% | |
| 7 | Wigan | Ref | 344,922 | £327.7m | £950.01 | +13% | |
| 8 | Stockport | LD | 303,929 | £287.0m | £944.45 | +12% | |
| 9 | Trafford | Lab | 241,025 | £226.9m | £941.60 | +12% | |
| 10 | Bolton | Ref | 310,085 | £291.4m | £939.67 | +12% | |
| 11 | St. Helens | Ref | 188,861 | £175.5m | £929.14 | +11% | |
| 12 | Oldham | Ref | 251,560 | £229.9m | £913.95 | +9% | |
| 13 | Wirral | Lab | 328,873 | £297.8m | £905.37 | +8% | |
| 14 | Walsall | Ref | — | 295,678 | £267.5m | £904.62 | +8% |
| 15 | Leeds | Ref | 845,189 | £738.3m | £873.48 | +4% | |
| 16 | Sefton | Lab | — | 286,281 | £249.7m | £872.07 | +4% |
| 17 | Tameside | Ref | 239,643 | £207.6m | £866.45 | +3% | |
| 18 | Manchester | Green | 589,670 | £495.3m | £839.89 | 0% | |
| 19 | Kirklees | Ref | — | 447,847 | £366.6m | £818.50 | -3% |
| 20 | Gateshead | Ref | — | 202,760 | £165.4m | £815.56 | -3% |
| 21 | Sandwell | Ref | — | 353,860 | £285.3m | £806.27 | -4% |
| 22 | Solihull | Con | — | 221,242 | £167.7m | £757.98 | -10% |
| 23 | Bury | Lab | 198,921 | £149.1m | £749.36 | -11% | |
| 24 | Calderdale | Ref | — | 210,929 | £156.9m | £744.07 | -11% |
| 25 | Dudley | Ref | 331,930 | £237.3m | £715.04 | -15% | |
| 26 | Wolverhampton | Ref | 281,251 | £201.0m | £714.68 | -15% | |
| 27 | Coventry | Ref | — | 369,026 | £248.0m | £672.01 | -20% |
| 28 | Bradford | Ref | — | 563,605 | £356.4m | £632.34 | -25% |
| 29 | Sheffield | Ref | 582,493 | £364.4m | £625.65 | -26% | |
| 30 | Newcastle upon Tyne | LD | — | 320,605 | £197.4m | £615.85 | -27% |
| 31 | Barnsley | Ref | 251,770 | £144.2m | £572.85 | -32% | |
| 32 | Wakefield | Ref | — | 367,666 | £206.2m | £560.77 | -33% |
| 33 | Sunderland | Ref | — | 288,606 | £144.6m | £500.97 | -40% |
| 34 | Doncaster | Ref | 319,765 | £155.9m | £487.44 | -42% | |
| 35 | Rotherham | Lab | 276,595 | £130.0m | £470.06 | -44% |
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.