Which UK region has the most in savings? Average savings by area
The amount people have in their savings differs from region to region in the UK. From overall savings to cash ISAs, how does your nest egg compare to those living nearby?
Setting aside money for the future, ideally in a high-interest savings account, is important, be it to help you in an emergency or to reach financial goals.
However, the amount people have stashed away differs hugely between the UK’s 12 major regions.
We look at the average savings by area and see where in the UK people have the best savings habit – and where they are lagging behind.
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Where in the country do people have the most savings?
The area in the country with the highest average savings is London, according to data from Raisin UK.
Britain’s capital is home to around 9 million people and is by far the most densely populated part of the UK.
The average savings pot in the capital is just under £29,000 – more than twice the figure in the area with the second-highest average savings.
The reason for London leading the pack is likely because both extremes of wealth live in the capital. The City of London is one of the world’s most important finance hubs and workers there often earn the most in the country, but the city is also home to a great deal of people on the poverty line.
The average amount people in the capital have in savings is therefore skewed by the two extremes, especially those who have large paypackets and are saving a large chunk of it.
While it may seem on the surface that Londonders have more money to save just because their incomes are larger, to a certain degree having larger savings is a necessity.
The capital has a famously high cost of living which means residents will likely need to hold more in their emergency fund.
The average cost of rent in London was £2,121 per month in April 2025, according to Zoopla, while the average cost of a home in the capital was £552,073 in March 2025, according to the Land Registry house price index.
The average cost of living (excluding rent) for one person in London is around £1,000 a month according to Numbeo, and grows to around £3,700 for a family of four.
It’s recommended you have an emergency fund which covers three months’ worth of essential spending at a minimum, and with prices being much higher in the capital than anywhere else in the country, Londoners’ savings will need to be much bigger.
Nevertheless, the staggering difference between average savings in London and in the rest of the country does point towards the fact that many in the capital are paid more and will therefore be able to save more.
Just 1.48% of people in London have £0 in savings, while only 6.67% have £100 or less in savings, according to Raisin UK. It’s a different story in other parts of the country.
The UK region with second-most in their savings is the West Midlands where the average savings pot is £13,318. The North East places third, where the average person has £10,022 stashed away.
We look at average savings by age in a separate article.
Where in the UK do people have the least in savings?
The East Midlands is the UK region where the average savings are lowest, at just £6,438.
This figure is barely enough to cover an emergency fund of three months' expenditure, according to Hargreaves Lansdown – the average household spends £2,111 on the essentials each month and so their emergency fund should be at least £6,333.
A high portion of people (8.75%) in the region have £0 in their savings and 12.5% have just £100 or less stashed away.
The average weekly earnings of someone in the East Midlands in 2024 was £684, according to the ONS, the equivalent of £35,568 a year. This is lower than the median annual pay (gross) for full-time employees in the UK, which is £37,430.
With lower-than-average earnings, people in the region may find it harder to stash away some of their cash into a savings account.
The cost of renting in the East Midlands is lower than in much of the country, with the ONS saying that average rent is £877 a month. Meanwhile, the average price of a home in the region is £243,973, according to the Land Registry house price index.
As for the cost of living, Numbeo does not provide region-wide data, but does provide statistics for the East Midlands’ largest city, Leicester. There, the average cost of living (excluding rent) for one person is £760 a month, growing to £2,604 for a family of four.
The UK region with the second-least in savings is Northern Ireland where the average resident has just £6,710 stashed away. The South West comes in third place, where average savings are £7,140.
Where in Britain do people have the most in their cash ISAs?
We have already seen where in Britain people have the most in their broader savings, but new data shows these areas are not necessarily the same places where people have the most in their cash ISAs.
Interest you accrue on savings in a cash ISA is tax-free.
They are most popular with savers in Britain’s capital, according to Hargreaves Lansdown, with the median Londoner holding £10,216 in a cash ISA.
Residents in the South East follow closely behind, where the median is £9,246.
The reason these two regions have the most in cash ISA savings is likely because, despite high living costs, average residents of these regions have much more money than people elsewhere in the country.
The average salaries in London and the South East are £853 and £779 a week, much more than the median earnings elsewhere in the country.
The British region where people, on average, have the least in a cash ISA is the South East. Median savers in the region have just £4,770 in cash ISAs.
This is surprising considering that workers in the South West have the fifth-highest weekly earnings in the country.
However, Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, notes that averages are skewed by figures on the extreme, and so rather than showing a lack of ISA savers in the region, it could show that more people are starting to build up their savings with smaller figures.
“It appears that those with modest savings in the South West appreciate that over time their balances could grow and attract interest, so they have opted for cash ISAs early. Those with smaller balances bring the average down, so could be a sign of enthusiasm rather than neglect,” she says.
A chart showing the average cash ISA holding in each British region can be found below.
Where in the UK do people have nothing in their savings?
Though it is far from a good situation to be in, a great deal of people in the UK have £0 in their savings.
Some regions of the UK have a higher proportion of people with £0 in savings than others.
People in Wales are the most likely to have £0 in their savings – research shows 9.09% have nothing stashed away, while 15.15% have £100 or less and 28.79% of people have £1,000 or less.
In the North East, 8.89% of people don’t have £1 in savings, while 11.11% have £100 or less and 35.56% have £1,000 or less.
On top of having the lowest average savings in the country, the East Midlands also has the third-highest proportion of residents with £0 in their savings. At the same time, 12.50% of residents have £100 or less in their savings and 35% have £1,000 or less.
A full list of the average savings and proportion with £0 in savings can be found below:
| Header Cell - Column 0 | Average savings |
% with £0 in savings |
% with £100 or less in savings |
% with £1,000 or less in savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Wales |
£9,648.91 |
9.09% |
15.15% |
28.79% |
North East |
£10,022.58 |
8.89% |
11.11% |
35.56% |
East Midlands |
£6,438.48 |
8.75% |
12.50% |
35.00% |
East Anglia |
£8,032.85 |
8.55% |
15.38% |
28.21% |
North West |
£9,156.79 |
8.20% |
16.39% |
35.25% |
Yorkshire and the Humber |
£8,406.60 |
7.69% |
19.23% |
32.69% |
South East |
£9,885.55 |
6.71% |
14.09% |
29.53% |
Northern Ireland |
£6,710.00 |
6.06% |
9.09% |
27.27% |
Scotland |
£7,297.19 |
5.88% |
13.73% |
34.31% |
West Midlands |
£13,318.35 |
5.38% |
10.75% |
23.66% |
South West |
£7,140.18 |
4.72% |
16.04% |
31.13% |
London |
£28,978.40 |
1.48% |
6.67% |
17.04% |
Source: Raisin UK, accurate as of May 2025
Whatever the reason is for having little in savings, it is important to take control of your situation and start a good money saving habit to make sure you have some protection against whatever life throws at you.
If you would like to start saving, then a good option could be to start putting money into one of the best savings accounts on the market, or one of the best Cash ISAs on the market.
For those who already have enough in easy-access savings for an emergency fund, it could be worth looking into investing to start growing your wealth. You could start by getting acquainted with a beginner-friendly investing platform, and opening up a stocks and shares ISA.
When it comes to investing, the value of your investments can go down as well as up and that common guidance is to be prepared to invest for the long-term (five years or more).
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Daniel is a financial journalist at MoneyWeek, writing about personal finance, economics, property, politics, and investing.
He covers savings, political news and enjoys translating economic data into simple English, and explaining what it means for your wallet.
Daniel joined MoneyWeek in January 2025 and previously worked at The Economist in their Audience team. He read history at Emmanuel College, Cambridge and edited Cambridge's student newspaper, Varsity.
In his free time, he likes reading, walking around Hampstead Heath, and cooking overambitious meals.