Low Income and Unemployment in Surrey (Universal Credit)

This page includes a dashboard summary of low income and unemployment data such as Universal Credit claimant count across Surrey geographies and the downloadable data. The dashboard was created by the Population Insight Team at Surrey County Council to provide a Surrey-level summary and the ability for you to select your desired area (District and Borough, or LSOA) for a more focused summary.

The Tableau dashboard is also available on Tableau Public.

A summary which focuses on child poverty and disadvantage in Surrey can be found on Surrey-I here.

A summary of pensioners in poverty in Surrey can be found on Surrey-i here.

A summary on fuel poverty in Surrey can be found on Surrey-i here.

Highlights:

(August 2025 update)

• As of July 2025, 80,337 residents of Surrey are on Universal Credit (UC).

• The proportion of claimants who are in work is 32.3 per cent, while those not in work but with no requirement to seek work represent 41.6 per cent. These people are likely to be incapable of work due to illness, severe disability, caring duties, or past the age of retirement. 26.1% of claimants are not in work, but seeking it.

• There are 65,901 households in Surrey on Universal Credit (May 2025, these figures are released later than the individual-level data).

• Since May 2022 there has been a consistent growth in the number of individuals and households in Surrey on Universal Credit. Compared to the July in 2024, the number of Surrey residents on Universal Credit in July 2025 has risen by +11,366 people (+16.5%).

• As of May 2025, there are 32,023 Surrey households on Universal Credit which include children (representing 52.6% of households on UC). There are 26,805 single person households (those not living in a couple, or with dependent children) on Universal Credit in Surrey.

• In Surrey, the ratio of women to men in employment and receiving Universal Credit is higher (61.9%) compared to the ratio of those out of work and on Universal Credit (52.4%). This indicates a gender imbalance in low-paid employment, necessitating a "top up" of income through benefits.

Source:

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) via Stat-Xplore