# Claimant rate: highest and lowest councils in North West (August 2026)

Oldham had the highest claimant rate of North West’s 35 councils in August 2026, at 6.5%.

Ribble Valley and Westmorland and Furness had the joint lowest, at 1.8%. The middle council, Sefton, had 3.8%.

| Rank | Area | Claimant rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Oldham](https://openindex.co.uk/oldham) | 6.5% |
| =2 | [Manchester](https://openindex.co.uk/manchester) | 6.0% |
| =2 | [Rochdale](https://openindex.co.uk/rochdale) | 6.0% |
| 4 | [Blackpool](https://openindex.co.uk/blackpool) | 5.8% |
| 5 | [Blackburn with Darwen](https://openindex.co.uk/blackburn-with-darwen) | 5.7% |
| =6 | [Burnley](https://openindex.co.uk/burnley) | 5.6% |
| =6 | [Hyndburn](https://openindex.co.uk/hyndburn) | 5.6% |
| =6 | [Pendle](https://openindex.co.uk/pendle) | 5.6% |
| 9 | [Liverpool](https://openindex.co.uk/liverpool) | 5.5% |
| 10 | [Bolton](https://openindex.co.uk/bolton) | 5.3% |
| 11 | [Salford](https://openindex.co.uk/salford) | 5.1% |
| 12 | [Tameside](https://openindex.co.uk/tameside) | 4.9% |
| 13 | [Preston](https://openindex.co.uk/preston) | 4.6% |
| 14 | [Bury](https://openindex.co.uk/bury) | 4.4% |
| =15 | [Halton](https://openindex.co.uk/halton) | 4.3% |
| =15 | [Knowsley](https://openindex.co.uk/knowsley) | 4.3% |
| 17 | [Rossendale](https://openindex.co.uk/rossendale) | 3.9% |
| 18 | [Sefton](https://openindex.co.uk/sefton) | 3.8% |
| 19 | [St. Helens](https://openindex.co.uk/st-helens) | 3.7% |
| 20 | [Wigan](https://openindex.co.uk/wigan) | 3.6% |
| 21 | [Wirral](https://openindex.co.uk/wirral) | 3.5% |
| =22 | [Stockport](https://openindex.co.uk/stockport) | 3.0% |
| =22 | [Trafford](https://openindex.co.uk/trafford) | 3.0% |
| =22 | [Wyre](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre) | 3.0% |
| 25 | [Lancaster](https://openindex.co.uk/lancaster) | 2.9% |
| 26 | [West Lancashire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-lancashire) | 2.8% |
| =27 | [Fylde](https://openindex.co.uk/fylde) | 2.7% |
| =27 | [Warrington](https://openindex.co.uk/warrington) | 2.7% |
| 29 | [Cheshire West and Chester](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-west-and-chester) | 2.6% |
| =30 | [Chorley](https://openindex.co.uk/chorley) | 2.5% |
| =30 | [Cumberland](https://openindex.co.uk/cumberland) | 2.5% |
| =30 | [South Ribble](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ribble) | 2.5% |
| 33 | [Cheshire East](https://openindex.co.uk/cheshire-east) | 2.4% |
| =34 | [Ribble Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/ribble-valley) | 1.8% |
| =34 | [Westmorland and Furness](https://openindex.co.uk/westmorland-and-furness) | 1.8% |

Source: Claimant count (Nomis), ONS via Nomis. Period: August 2026. Period: August 2026.

## Other rankings of this measure

- [UK](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/uk)
- [England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/england)
- [Northern Ireland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/northern-ireland)
- [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/scotland)
- [Wales](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/wales)
- [North East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-east)
- [Yorkshire and The Humber](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/yorkshire-and-the-humber)
- [East Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/east-midlands)
- [West Midlands](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/west-midlands)
- [East of England](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/east-of-england)
- [London](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/london)
- [South East](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/south-east)
- [South West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/south-west)

- [The map](https://openindex.co.uk/map/claimant-rate)
- [Source and method](https://openindex.co.uk/sources/claimant-rate)

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-west.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.11. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-west