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

Birmingham had the highest claimant rate of West Midlands’s 30 councils in August 2026, at 10.1%.

Staffordshire Moorlands and Stratford-on-Avon had the joint lowest, at 2.2%. The middle council, Tamworth, had 3.3%.

| Rank | Area | Claimant rate |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [Birmingham](https://openindex.co.uk/birmingham) | 10.1% |
| =2 | [Sandwell](https://openindex.co.uk/sandwell) | 6.7% |
| =2 | [Wolverhampton](https://openindex.co.uk/wolverhampton) | 6.7% |
| 4 | [Walsall](https://openindex.co.uk/walsall) | 6.0% |
| 5 | [Coventry](https://openindex.co.uk/coventry) | 5.8% |
| 6 | [Stoke-on-Trent](https://openindex.co.uk/stoke-on-trent) | 5.4% |
| 7 | [Dudley](https://openindex.co.uk/dudley) | 4.6% |
| 8 | [Nuneaton and Bedworth](https://openindex.co.uk/nuneaton-and-bedworth) | 4.2% |
| 9 | [Telford and Wrekin](https://openindex.co.uk/telford-and-wrekin) | 4.0% |
| 10 | [Redditch](https://openindex.co.uk/redditch) | 3.9% |
| 11 | [Solihull](https://openindex.co.uk/solihull) | 3.6% |
| =12 | [Worcester](https://openindex.co.uk/worcester) | 3.4% |
| =12 | [Wyre Forest](https://openindex.co.uk/wyre-forest) | 3.4% |
| =14 | [East Staffordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/east-staffordshire) | 3.3% |
| =14 | [Tamworth](https://openindex.co.uk/tamworth) | 3.3% |
| 16 | [Cannock Chase](https://openindex.co.uk/cannock-chase) | 3.1% |
| =17 | [Newcastle-under-Lyme](https://openindex.co.uk/newcastle-under-lyme) | 3.0% |
| =17 | [North Warwickshire](https://openindex.co.uk/north-warwickshire) | 3.0% |
| 19 | [Rugby](https://openindex.co.uk/rugby) | 2.9% |
| =20 | [Bromsgrove](https://openindex.co.uk/bromsgrove) | 2.6% |
| =20 | [Herefordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/herefordshire) | 2.6% |
| =20 | [South Staffordshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-staffordshire) | 2.6% |
| =20 | [Stafford](https://openindex.co.uk/stafford) | 2.6% |
| =20 | [Wychavon](https://openindex.co.uk/wychavon) | 2.6% |
| =25 | [Malvern Hills](https://openindex.co.uk/malvern-hills) | 2.5% |
| =25 | [Warwick](https://openindex.co.uk/warwick) | 2.5% |
| =27 | [Lichfield](https://openindex.co.uk/lichfield) | 2.4% |
| =27 | [Shropshire](https://openindex.co.uk/shropshire) | 2.4% |
| =29 | [Staffordshire Moorlands](https://openindex.co.uk/staffordshire-moorlands) | 2.2% |
| =29 | [Stratford-on-Avon](https://openindex.co.uk/stratford-on-avon) | 2.2% |

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)
- [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/west-midlands.

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/west-midlands