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.
Find future households below average income (HBAI) statistics release dates in our statistics release calendar.
Next release
HBAI statistics for the financial year ending (FYE) 2020 will include a new section and tables on household food security (unaffordability) based on the information collected for the first time in the Family Resources Survey (FRS) for FYE 2020.
A minor methodological revision will also be made to capture all income from child maintenance in HBAI. This will result in more income from child maintenance being included, which in turn will slightly increase some household incomes and so tend to slightly reduce low income rates for families with children. The full back series of HBAI statistics (back to financial year ending 1995) will be revised so that comparisons over time are on a consistent basis for the full HBAI time series of FYE 1995 to FYE 2020. This also means that tables from the publication of the FYE 2020 statistics may be very slightly different to those published before the FYE 2020 publication.
The next HBAI statistics will be published on 25 March 2021.
There is more about DWP statistics on the Statistics at DWP page.
Email team.hbai@dwp.gov.uk with any questions or feedback.
HBAI data on Stat-Xplore
UK-level HBAI data is available from 1994/95 to 2018/19 on the Stat-Xplore online tool. You can use Stat-Xplore to create your own HBAI analysis.
Note that regional and ethnicity analysis are not available on the database because multiple-year averages cannot currently be produced. These are available in the HBAI tables.
HBAI information is available at:
- an individual level
- a family level (benefit unit level)
- a household level
Read the user guide to HBAI data on Stat-Xplore.
We are seeking feedback from users on this development release of HBAI data on Stat-Xplore – email team.hbai@dwp.gov.uk with your comments.
Latest release
Background information and guidance
Access the underlying data used to produce the statistics through the UK data archive.
Read a guide to sources of data on earnings and income published by the Office for National Statistics.
- Development of a new measure of poverty: statistical notice
- Changes to DWP households’ and pensioners’ incomes statistics 2015/16: statistical notice
- Accessing datasets: access arrangements for sensitive versions of DWP data
- How low income is measured in households below average income statistics
- Changes to DWP Family and Household Income Statistics 2014/15: statistical notice
- First release: households below average income (HBAI) statistics, June 2013
- First Release: Households Below Average Income (HBAI) statistics, June 2012
- Confirmed changes to the 2012/13 Households Below Average Income publication
- Proposed changes to the 2012/13 Households Below Average Income publication
- Changes to the households below average income (HBAI) statistics 2011/12: statistical note
- Households below average income and Pensioners' incomes series: revisions to 2008/09 and 2009/10 results
- Re-grossed Households below average income (HBAI) estimates 2002/03 to 2011/12
- Households Below Average Income (HBAI): results of 2009/10 usage survey
- DWP Family and Household Income Statistics – adjusting for inflation: statistical notice
- Households Below Average Income: technical note on severe child poverty indicator
- Households Below Average Income (HBAI): technical note on pensioner material deprivation
- HBAI absolute low income: illustrative figures using CPI to adjust for inflation
Previous releases
Find archived HBAI reports on the National Archives website.
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2017/18
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2016/17
- Households Below Average Income: 1994/95 to 2015/16
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2014/15
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2013/14
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2012/13
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2011/12
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2010/11
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2009/10
- Households below average income: 1994/95 to 2008/09
Last updated 2 March 2021 + show all updates
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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.
