Highways and transport: every metropolitan borough ranked by spend per resident
35 councils · median £31.03/person · mean £32.58/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sheffield | Ref | 582,493 | £65.9m | £113.18 | +265% | |
| 2 | Knowsley | Ind | 162,565 | £12.3m | £75.53 | +143% | |
| 3 | Rochdale | Ref | 235,561 | £13.7m | £58.12 | +87% | |
| 4 | South Tyneside | Ref | — | 151,393 | £7.8m | £51.60 | +66% |
| 5 | Walsall | Ref | — | 295,678 | £15.1m | £51.03 | +64% |
| 6 | North Tyneside | Ref | 215,025 | £10.0m | £46.54 | +50% | |
| 7 | Solihull | Con | — | 221,242 | £10.2m | £46.04 | +48% |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | Ref | 281,251 | £11.2m | £39.72 | +28% | |
| 9 | Oldham | Ref | 251,560 | £10.0m | £39.60 | +28% | |
| 10 | Dudley | Ref | 331,930 | £13.0m | £39.19 | +26% | |
| 11 | Doncaster | Ref | 319,765 | £12.2m | £38.28 | +23% | |
| 12 | Sunderland | Ref | — | 288,606 | £10.8m | £37.59 | +21% |
| 13 | Coventry | Ref | — | 369,026 | £13.8m | £37.38 | +20% |
| 14 | Wirral | Lab | 328,873 | £11.4m | £34.59 | +11% | |
| 15 | Calderdale | Ref | — | 210,929 | £7.0m | £33.40 | +8% |
| 16 | Stockport | LD | 303,929 | £10.1m | £33.34 | +7% | |
| 17 | Gateshead | Ref | — | 202,760 | £6.6m | £32.42 | +4% |
| 18 | Tameside | Ref | 239,643 | £7.4m | £31.03 | 0% | |
| 19 | St. Helens | Ref | 188,861 | £5.6m | £29.76 | -4% | |
| 20 | Wakefield | Ref | — | 367,666 | £10.9m | £29.75 | -4% |
| 21 | Leeds | Ref | 845,189 | £23.1m | £27.30 | -12% | |
| 22 | Rotherham | Lab | 276,595 | £7.4m | £26.83 | -14% | |
| 23 | Barnsley | Ref | 251,770 | £6.2m | £24.61 | -21% | |
| 24 | Sefton | Lab | — | 286,281 | £6.6m | £22.91 | -26% |
| 25 | Liverpool | Lab | 508,961 | £11.2m | £21.98 | -29% | |
| 26 | Wigan | Ref | 344,922 | £6.9m | £20.03 | -35% | |
| 27 | Bolton | Ref | 310,085 | £6.1m | £19.61 | -37% | |
| 28 | Sandwell | Ref | — | 353,860 | £6.6m | £18.54 | -40% |
| 29 | Bradford | Ref | — | 563,605 | £10.2m | £18.14 | -42% |
| 30 | Trafford | Lab | 241,025 | £3.8m | £15.93 | -49% | |
| 31 | Bury | Lab | 198,921 | £3.1m | £15.71 | -49% | |
| 32 | Kirklees | Ref | — | 447,847 | £5.9m | £13.14 | -58% |
| 33 | Salford | Ref | 294,348 | £1.3m | £4.50 | -85% | |
| 34 | Newcastle upon Tyne | LD | — | 320,605 | £0.1m | £0.27 | -99% |
| 35 | Manchester | Green | 589,670 | £-4.3m | £-7.32 | -124% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the highways and transport 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.