Across the district in 2019/20 there were 14,150 children living in low income families (income below 60% of the national median income before housing costs). This is around 21% of children aged under 16, slightly above the UK average (19%). The highest child poverty rates in the region are in Bradford (38%) and Hull (32%). The number of local children in low income families has increased by 34% over the past five years.
Two-thirds of children in low income families live in working families – similar to regional and national patterns. At ward level, the proportion of children living in low income families ranges from 12% in Stanley and Outwood East, to 33% of children in Wakefield North and 39% in Wakefield East
Children living in low income families in 2019/20, by ward. Source: Department for Work and Pensions
Childcare Costs
Childcare may enable parents to return to work and so boost household incomes. Childcare costs in the region had been fairly static, but in the last few years they have started to rise again - the same as the national trend. The regional average cost for a child under 2 years in a nursery in 2019 was £4.07 per hour, or £214 per week (50 hours).