Prosperity in UK Cities Gains Momentum as Wider Regional Growth Lags Behind

 

16  September 2017: The UK saw uneven rates of prosperity growth over the last year, according to the third edition of the annual UK Prosperity Map from Barclays.

Against a backdrop of fluctuating economic conditions and Brexit negotiations, the 2017 UK Prosperity Map shows that, while most areas of the country are more prosperous overall than last year, in many cases cities are outpacing their wider region, with clear disparities opening up when it comes to GDP per capita and earnings. 

 

The research uses factors including numbers of millionaires, average earnings, business growth rates, house prices, and GDP per capita to generate a unique ‘Prosperity Index Score’ for each UK region and city. 

 

 

The number of wealthy individuals continues to increase: the UK’s millionaire population grew by 7.6% year-on-year in 2016. Every region saw an increase in its number of millionaires since last year’s research, except Scotland, which saw no change. The East Midlands and South West saw the highest percentage growth in their millionaire population between 2015 and 2016 (11.1% and 10.5% respectively).

 

 

While London continues to dominate as the UK’s most prosperous city, other cities saw positive trends over the last year. Newcastle and Birmingham saw the biggest year-on-year increases in GDP per capita, at 4.4% and 4.2% respectively, growth well in excess of the overall UK figure over the same period (1.8%). When it comes to house prices, almost every city has seen higher house price growth than London (up 3%), with Birmingham (8%) and Manchester (7%) seeing the biggest increases. 

 

 

 

 

Order	Scores	Final Index Figure	Last Year's Figure
1	(n/c) London	0.77	0.78
2	(n/c) South East	0.56	0.58
3	(n/c) Eastern England	0.45	0.42
4	(+1) Northern Ireland	0.35	0.34
5	(+1) East Midlands	0.32	0.30
6	(-2) South West	0.31	0.37
7	(+2) West Midlands	0.23	0.24
8	(n/c) North West	0.22	0.26
9	(-2) Scotland	0.22	0.27
10	(n/c) Wales	0.20	0.23
11	(n/c) Yorkshire and the Humber	0.20	0.21
12	(n/c) North East	0.07	0.12

 

Prosperity Index scores – city 

Prosperity Map 2017 Index

Order	Scores	Final Index Figure	Last Year's Figure
1	(n/c) London	0.93	0.91
2	(n/c) Reading	0.77	0.75
3	(n/c) Cambridge	0.56	0.56
4	(+1) Leeds	0.42	0.43
5	(-1) Bristol	0.40	0.44
6	(n/c) Cardiff	0.38	0.32
7	(n/c) Birmingham	0.38	0.26
8	(n/c) Manchester	0.37	0.26
9	(n/c) Liverpool	0.21	0.15
10	(n/c) Newcastle	0.20	0.11