Housing and homelessness: every county council ranked by spend per resident
18 councils · median £3.62/person · mean £4.32/person. From MHCLG Revenue Outturn 2024-25.
| Rank | Council | Control | Seats | Population | Total spend | Per resident | vs median |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | East Sussex | — | — | 560,882 | £10.9m | £19.38 | +435% |
| 2 | Warwickshire | — | — | 632,207 | £4.7m | £7.49 | +107% |
| 3 | Lincolnshire | — | — | 789,502 | £5.3m | £6.74 | +86% |
| 4 | West Sussex | — | — | 915,037 | £6.0m | £6.59 | +82% |
| 5 | Hertfordshire | — | — | 1,236,191 | £7.4m | £6.00 | +66% |
| 6 | Surrey | — | — | 1,248,649 | £7.3m | £5.83 | +61% |
| 7 | Suffolk | — | — | 786,231 | £3.6m | £4.60 | +27% |
| 8 | Leicestershire | — | — | 745,573 | £3.3m | £4.48 | +24% |
| 9 | Oxfordshire | — | — | 763,218 | £2.9m | £3.77 | +4% |
| 10 | Cambridgeshire | — | — | 710,317 | £2.5m | £3.47 | -4% |
| 11 | Kent | — | — | 1,639,029 | £5.5m | £3.35 | -7% |
| 12 | Derbyshire | — | — | 822,377 | £2.1m | £2.54 | -30% |
| 13 | Devon | — | — | 842,313 | £1.7m | £1.98 | -45% |
| 14 | Essex | — | — | 1,563,365 | £1.7m | £1.07 | -70% |
| 15 | Gloucestershire | — | — | 669,380 | £0.2m | £0.37 | -90% |
| 16 | Hampshire | — | — | 1,447,214 | £0.1m | £0.07 | -98% |
| 17 | Nottinghamshire | — | — | 857,013 | £-0.0m | £-0.01 | -100% |
| 18 | Worcestershire | — | — | 621,360 | £-0.0m | £-0.05 | -101% |
What this shows. Net revenue expenditure on the housing and homelessness 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.