Eleven UK cities have been identified as top performers in the improvement of living standards and disposable income growth.

According to research by the Centre for Cities think tank, living standards have risen by 5.2% since 2013 in the following places: Brighton, Worthing, London, Barnsley, Warrington, Bristol, Wakefield, Doncaster, Chatham, Preston, and Milton Keynes.

Brighton was identified as the top performer, with disposable incomes having grown by 8.1% since 2013, followed by Worthing (7.8%) and London (5.8%), while areas such as Cambridge were found to have seen a 3% decline in incomes during the same time period.

The report found that living standards had improved by just 2.4% nationally compared to the growth achieved by the top 11 areas. It also argues that UK residents would have benefitted from roughly £3,200 more in disposable income if all 63 towns and cities had seen the same rate of growth as the top performing regions.

To help achieve faster growth in living standards, the report highlights the need to boost local economies and develop ‘cutting-edge’ industries specifically.

It also outlines the importance of providing more growth opportunities for households, with an emphasis on delivering jobs, transport and skills support, as well as decreasing constraints on housing and commercial space.

Andrew Carter, Chief Executive of Centre for Cities, reinforced that it is enhanced economic growth that helps to raise household incomes, and suggested that ‘without growth, cost-of-living fixes can only ever be temporary’.

He said cities need to increase job growth in sectors such as life sciences, digital and AI, which would provide benefits for both urban areas and the ‘everyday economy’ of workers.

‘As the Prime Minister has said, 2026 needs to be the year that ‘politics shows it can help again’. The test, at the end of this year, will be whether we are seeing more jobs, higher wages, and stronger local growth in more places across the country’, he added.