Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics
Statistics on the number and percentage of people living in low-income households in the UK.
These publications provide statistics and commentary on living standards in UK households, as determined by disposable income. They include the number and percentage of people living in low-income households, and changes in income patterns over time.
There is more about DWP statistics on the Statistics at DWP page.
Email team.hbai@dwp.gov.uk with any questions or feedback.
Next release date and key information
The next release of Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics will be published in March 2027.
For further information on planned developments and methodological changes for this release, please see the HBAI release strategy.
Find future HBAI statistics release dates in our statistics release calendar.
Changes to the latest release
This section provides brief information on key changes included in the HBAI for financial years ending 1995 to 2025.
Further detail is available in the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
Users should refer to the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for changes to FRS source data.
Integration of survey and administrative data
As noted in the Changes to the latest release section of the Family Resources survey, the FYE 2025 FRS and HBAI releases feature an improved approach to using administrative data in place of survey responses. Benefits information for the major state benefits and tax credits is now based on administrative data sources. This change has reduced the under‑reporting of benefits that was previously seen in the FRS (and therefore HBAI) and improved data quality in both datasets. Further information on this development is provided in the latest FRS technical report and in Annex 5 to the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
As part of the above change, updates will also be made to back-series years in two stages – in March 2026 (back to FYE 2022) and in summer 2026 (back to FYE 2019).
This improvement means key HBAI low-income measures, including the number/proportion of people identified as being in relative and absolute low income for all groups and in all years from FYE 2022 (in March 2026) and from FYE 2019 (in summer 2026) have changed. It also means there will be a break in the HBAI series at these points. We advise users that income data before and after the break are not directly comparable and if comparisons across the break point are required users should follow the advice set out in section 3.2 of the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
Dotted lines and notes have been added to all tables and charts which cover the break point to signal the change to administrative-linked data and other smaller updates to historical data. Some measures of poverty, such as material deprivation statistics, are unaffected by the improvement of using administrative- linked data.
Update to the absolute low-income reference year
Given the methodological break due to the integration of administrative data, the absolute reference year has changed to FYE 2025 for years where administrative data linking has been applied and remains at FYE 2011 for prior years. Not making this change would mean the calculation of the absolute low-income measure would not be analytically robust as the base year would be on a different methodological basis to the comparison year.
This change will impact the number of people identified as living in absolute low income. It is a reclassification to a more up-to-date absolute low-income date, rather than a correction of an error in previous estimates. Changes will happen in two stages: from FYE 2022 in March 2026 and from FYE 2019 in summer 2026.
The annual HBAI publication fulfils the legal obligation in the Welfare Reform and Work Act 2016. References to FYE 2011 should be read as references to FYE 2025 for years where the HBAI data has been updated for administrative data linking.
Changes to the absolute low-income reference year also impact the Separated Families statistics and Children in low-income families statistics
Publication of the Deep Material Poverty measure
As outlined in Our Children, Our Future: Tackling Child Poverty, the Strategy will track progress against two headline metrics. The first is relative low income after housing costs (AHC), which is already included in the annual HBAI publication tables.
To complement this, a new measure of deep material poverty has been developed to capture children experiencing a deeper level of poverty. This is defined as lacking at least 4 out of 13 essential material deprivation items.
An ad‑hoc statistical release was published in December 2025, and from the FYE 2025 HBAI publication six new tables are included presenting estimates using the latest data. Further detail can be found in the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
Changes to publication tables, charts or HBAI variables
Changes have been made to publication tables, charts or HBAI variables as listed here:
- changes have been made to ensure supplementary time series HBAI publication tables are unaffected by the changing of State Pension Age over time. Tables 5.5tr, 5.6tr, 6.5tr and 6.6tr now present data for those aged 65 and under (5.5tr and 5.6tr) and those aged 66+ (6.5tr and 6.6tr)
- the title and labelling of tables 1.6c and 6.7tr have been changed to clarify the change in the eligible pensioner population. Two new AHC publication charts have been added and will be routinely produced
- Scottish Adult and Child Disability Payments are included in HBAI variables DSCORANDBEN and BENBU_DISBEN from FYE 2023 to FYE 2025
- economic indicators in Table 1.2a have been updated with the latest data
- titles, labels and notes have been reviewed to be shorter, consistent and compliant with accessibility guidance
- a single complete list of publication table notes now appears in each workbook, and specific notes relevant to individual tables are highlighted at the top of each table
Further detail on all these changes is available in the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
Other updates to HBAI historical data
As part of updating back-series years, additional changes detailed in the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report include:
- inclusion of latest available data for constants and deflators
- corrected data for EDATTAIN for FYE 2023 and FYE 2022
- retrospective methodological change to Scottish Council Tax Charges and the Water and Sewerage reduction scheme
- change to when income from directors’ dividends is included (only where directors are classed as employees for FYE 2022, consistent with FYE 2023 onwards)
- minimal changes to grossing factors for FYE 2022 to FYE 2024
- Scottish Adult and Child Disability Payments are included in HBAI variables DSCORANDBEN and BENBU_DISBEN from FYE 2023
- removal of combined low-income and pensioner material deprivation variables, as they are not used in publication tables
Summer 2026 updates to historical data
For the FYE 2025 HBAI release we are also making updates to historical back-series years to take account of the integration of administrative data, updates to the absolute low-income reference year and other smaller changes. These updates to historical data will be made in in two stages – in March 2026 (back to FYE 2022) and in summer 2026 (back to FYE 2019).
In summer 2026, we will release updated datasets and estimates for FYE 2019, FYE 2020 and FYE 2021. These will appear on the FYE 2025 Households Below Average Income (HBAI) release with accompanying documentation. Remaining back‑series years will also be made available via the UK Data Service and the ONS Secure Research Service at that time.
HBAI data on Stat-Xplore
HBAI data is available from FYE 1995 to FYE 2025 on the Stat-Xplore online tool. You can use Stat-Xplore to create your own HBAI analysis.
For March 2026, the FYE 2025 HBAI Stat-Xplore dataset is split into:
- HBAI – data from 2021/22 (admin-linked) – containing admin-linked data from FYE 2022 to FYE 2025
- HBAI – data to 2021/22 (unlinked) – containing unlinked data from FYE 1995 to FYE 2022
Please see the Data Quality section of each dataset information page for data changes.
Data for FYE 2021 is not available on Stat-Xplore.
Given the changes to the structure of the HBAI Stat-Xplore dataset from FYE 2025 users are advised to read the Stat-Xplore user guide, notes and guidance and ensure data are used appropriately.
Further detail is available in the HBAI Background, Information and Methodology report.
HBAI information is available at an individual level, and uses the net, weekly income of their household. Breakdowns allow analysis of individual, family (benefit unit) and household characteristics of the individual.
Read the user guide to HBAI data on Stat-Xplore.
We are seeking feedback from users on the HBAI data in Stat-Xplore – email team.hbai@dwp.gov.uk with your comments.
Release strategy
The HBAI release strategy acts as the formal notice of changes to future releases of the HBAI publication.
The strategy describes the potential release of new statistics within the publication and announces any other developments, for both 2025 to 2026 and and 2026 to 2027.
The HBAI release strategy is not a static document; it will be updated as plans develop, to provide users with details of latest developments.
The development of these statistics follows DWP’s statistical work programme
Other developments
This section provides March 2026 updates to HBAI related statistics developments. Please see the Households below average income release strategy for forward looking updates on other developments.
Children in Low Income Families (CiLIF) statistics development
Following the successful completion of discovery work and a public consultation, After Housing Costs local area child poverty statistics for Financial Year Ending 2024 and 2025 were published on 26 March 2026.
The March 2026 release also includes revisions to the Before Housing Costs time-series at UK, regional and local area level. Data prior to Financial Year Ending 2022 was not published and there is no scheduled additional release later in the year.
Latest release
Background information and guidance
Access the underlying data used to produce the statistics through the UK data archive or the ONS Secure Research Service.
Read a guide to sources of data on earnings and income published by the Office for National Statistics.
Previous releases
Find archived HBAI reports on the National Archives website.
Updates to this page
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Added latest release: "Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2025" and updated the page with information on changes to this release.
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Collection page update with information regarding the new Households Below Average Income release strategy. Child Poverty Strategy and Deep Material Poverty Financial Year End 2024 to 2025 also added to Background information guidance.
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Added latest release: "Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2024".
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Added information to the page that the next release of Households below average income (HBAI) statistics will be published on 27 March 2025.
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Removed content relating to the changes to the next release of Households Below Average Income and added Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2023 to the collection.
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Added information to the page about changes to the next release of the Households Below Average Income statistics. The next release will be published on 21 March 2024.
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Amended link to 'Read a guide to sources of data on earnings and income published by the Office for National Statistics', under heading 'Background information and guidance'.
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Removed content relating to the changes to the next release of Households Below Average Income and added Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2022 to the collection.
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Added information about the next release of HBAI statistics, due to be published on 23 March 2023.
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Added a link to the latest release of HBAI statistics: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2021.
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Added a note about the next release of HBAI statistics (due to be published on 31 March). Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the range of statistics we publish, this year’s statistical release will be more limited than in previous years.
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Added a note about the information in the next release of HBAI statistics, this will be published on 31 March 2022.
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Added information about the 2022 review of the material deprivation questions in the Family Resources Survey (FRS).
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Added a link to the latest release of these statistics: Households below average income: for financial years ending 1995 to 2020.
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Added a note about the information in the next release of HBAI statistics, this will be published on 25 March 2021.
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Added a link to 'Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2018/19'.
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Added a link to a statistical notice about the development of a new measure of poverty.
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Revised information about Stat-Xplore, including a link to an updated version of the user guide to HBAI data on Stat-Xplore.
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Added a link to 'Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2017/18'.
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Added information that HBAI data is now available on Stat-Xplore - an online tool that lets you create customised tabulations and view results in interactive charts.
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Added 'Households below average income: 1994/1995 to 2016/2017'.
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Published Households below average income: 1994/1995 to 2015/2016.
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Published a statistical notice about a change in methodology for the HBAI report, to take effect for the 2015/16 publication.
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Published Households below average income: 1994/1995 to 2014/2015.
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Added link to background information about a new statistics publication 'Income dynamics' due to be published in February/March 2017.
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Published Households below average income: 1994/1995 to 2013/2014.
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Published Households below average income (HBAI) stats for 1994/95 to 2012/13.
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Added "Re-grossed Households below average income (HBAI) estimates 2002/03 to 2011/12"
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Published next release date for these statistics (1 July 2014).
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Published new statistical note confirming changes to the 2012/13 HBAI report, provisionally scheduled for publication in June 2014.
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Link added to statistical notice about proposed changes to future publications
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First published.