# Claimant rate: highest and lowest councils in South East (August 2026)

Slough had the highest claimant rate of South East’s 64 councils in August 2026, at 5.9%.

Hart and South Oxfordshire had the joint lowest, at 1.8%. The middle council, Bracknell Forest, had 2.8%.

| Rank | Area | Claimant rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Slough](https://openindex.co.uk/slough) | 5.9% |
| 2 | [Thanet](https://openindex.co.uk/thanet) | 5.4% |
| 3 | [Hastings](https://openindex.co.uk/hastings) | 5.0% |
| 4 | [Eastbourne](https://openindex.co.uk/eastbourne) | 4.9% |
| 5 | [Crawley](https://openindex.co.uk/crawley) | 4.6% |
| 6 | [Portsmouth](https://openindex.co.uk/portsmouth) | 4.5% |
| =7 | [Brighton and Hove](https://openindex.co.uk/brighton-and-hove) | 4.3% |
| =7 | [Gravesham](https://openindex.co.uk/gravesham) | 4.3% |
| =7 | [Reading](https://openindex.co.uk/reading) | 4.3% |
| =10 | [Medway](https://openindex.co.uk/medway) | 4.2% |
| =10 | [Southampton](https://openindex.co.uk/southampton) | 4.2% |
| 12 | [Milton Keynes](https://openindex.co.uk/milton-keynes) | 4.1% |
| 13 | [Folkestone and Hythe](https://openindex.co.uk/folkestone-and-hythe) | 3.8% |
| 14 | [Arun](https://openindex.co.uk/arun) | 3.7% |
| =15 | [Gosport](https://openindex.co.uk/gosport) | 3.6% |
| =15 | [Isle of Wight](https://openindex.co.uk/isle-of-wight) | 3.6% |
| =15 | [Spelthorne](https://openindex.co.uk/spelthorne) | 3.6% |
| =18 | [Lewes](https://openindex.co.uk/lewes) | 3.5% |
| =18 | [Maidstone](https://openindex.co.uk/maidstone) | 3.5% |
| =18 | [Swale](https://openindex.co.uk/swale) | 3.5% |
| =21 | [Dartford](https://openindex.co.uk/dartford) | 3.3% |
| =21 | [Dover](https://openindex.co.uk/dover) | 3.3% |
| =21 | [Havant](https://openindex.co.uk/havant) | 3.3% |
| =21 | [Worthing](https://openindex.co.uk/worthing) | 3.3% |
| =25 | [Canterbury](https://openindex.co.uk/canterbury) | 3.2% |
| =25 | [Chichester](https://openindex.co.uk/chichester) | 3.2% |
| =25 | [Rother](https://openindex.co.uk/rother) | 3.2% |
| 28 | [Adur](https://openindex.co.uk/adur) | 3.1% |
| =29 | [Buckinghamshire](https://openindex.co.uk/buckinghamshire) | 3.0% |
| =29 | [Rushmoor](https://openindex.co.uk/rushmoor) | 3.0% |
| 31 | [Ashford](https://openindex.co.uk/ashford) | 2.9% |
| 32 | [Bracknell Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/bracknell-forest) | 2.8% |
| =33 | [Basingstoke and Deane](https://openindex.co.uk/basingstoke-and-deane) | 2.7% |
| =33 | [Woking](https://openindex.co.uk/woking) | 2.7% |
| =35 | [Oxford](https://openindex.co.uk/oxford) | 2.6% |
| =35 | [Runnymede](https://openindex.co.uk/runnymede) | 2.6% |
| =37 | [Elmbridge](https://openindex.co.uk/elmbridge) | 2.5% |
| =37 | [Tandridge](https://openindex.co.uk/tandridge) | 2.5% |
| =37 | [Tonbridge and Malling](https://openindex.co.uk/tonbridge-and-malling) | 2.5% |
| =37 | [Tunbridge Wells](https://openindex.co.uk/tunbridge-wells) | 2.5% |
| =37 | [Windsor and Maidenhead](https://openindex.co.uk/windsor-and-maidenhead) | 2.5% |
| =42 | [Wealden](https://openindex.co.uk/wealden) | 2.4% |
| =42 | [West Berkshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-berkshire) | 2.4% |
| =44 | [Cherwell](https://openindex.co.uk/cherwell) | 2.3% |
| =44 | [Eastleigh](https://openindex.co.uk/eastleigh) | 2.3% |
| =44 | [New Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/new-forest) | 2.3% |
| =44 | [Sevenoaks](https://openindex.co.uk/sevenoaks) | 2.3% |
| =44 | [Surrey Heath](https://openindex.co.uk/surrey-heath) | 2.3% |
| 49 | [Reigate and Banstead](https://openindex.co.uk/reigate-and-banstead) | 2.2% |
| =50 | [East Hampshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-hampshire) | 2.1% |
| =50 | [Epsom and Ewell](https://openindex.co.uk/epsom-and-ewell) | 2.1% |
| =50 | [Mid Sussex](https://openindex.co.uk/mid-sussex) | 2.1% |
| =50 | [Winchester](https://openindex.co.uk/winchester) | 2.1% |
| =54 | [Fareham](https://openindex.co.uk/fareham) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Guildford](https://openindex.co.uk/guildford) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Horsham](https://openindex.co.uk/horsham) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Test Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/test-valley) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Vale of White Horse](https://openindex.co.uk/vale-of-white-horse) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Waverley](https://openindex.co.uk/waverley) | 2.0% |
| =54 | [Wokingham](https://openindex.co.uk/wokingham) | 2.0% |
| =61 | [Mole Valley](https://openindex.co.uk/mole-valley) | 1.9% |
| =61 | [West Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/west-oxfordshire) | 1.9% |
| =63 | [Hart](https://openindex.co.uk/hart) | 1.8% |
| =63 | [South Oxfordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-oxfordshire) | 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)
- [North West](https://openindex.co.uk/rankings/claimant-rate/north-west)
- [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 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/south-east.

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/south-east