Wakefield has been named as one of the UK’s top-performing places for rising living standards in a major new national report.
Cities Outlook 2026, published by Centre for Cities, looks at how living standards have changed across the UK’s 63 largest cities and towns over the past decade – and what needs to happen next to make economic growth “felt everywhere, by everyone”.
The findings put Wakefield firmly among a small group of places that have outperformed the national average since 2013.
Wakefield’s decade in the data
Centre for Cities identifies just 11 places that have achieved what it describes as “greater prosperity” – meaning they have outperformed the national average on both economic growth and real disposable income growth.
Wakefield is one of them.
Between 2013 and 2023, the report shows that Wakefield achieved:
- Real disposable income growth per person: +4.6%
- Real economic output growth: +23.9%
- An improvement in national ranking for disposable income, rising from 36th to 29th out of 63 cities and towns
For comparison, across urban Britain as a whole:
- Disposable income grew by just 2.4%
- Economic output grew by 18.4%
In short, Wakefield has been outperforming the national urban average on the measures that matter most to household spending power.
Why living standards matter to the city centre
Living standards are not an abstract economic concept – they directly affect how the city centre performs day to day.
Rising disposable income influences:
- how confident people feel about spending
- how often people choose to visit the city centre
- how long they stay and how much they spend
- whether businesses feel able to invest in staff, stock and improvements
Cities Outlook 2026 makes a clear national point: the UK cannot raise living standards without cities and towns, which account for Wakefield’s share of the population and the majority of economic output.
For Wakefield, continued progress on living standards directly supports a stronger, more resilient city centre economy.
Wakefield at a glance: strengths and challenges
Centre for Cities’ latest Wakefield factsheet highlights encouraging fundamentals, alongside areas where long-term improvement is still needed.
Strengths to build on
- Population: 361,786 – up 9.7% since 2013
- Employment rate: 74.9%
- Average weekly workplace earnings: £647
These fundamentals support footfall, confidence and day-to-day economic activity across the city centre.
Areas to keep improving
- High-level qualifications: 28.8% (ranked 61st of 63)
- New economy firms: 14.4 per 10,000 working-age residents
- Private knowledge services jobs: 7.4% of total jobs
The message is clear: Wakefield is moving in the right direction, but sustaining rising living standards depends on continuing to improve skills, productivity and higher-value job creation.
What successful places do differently
Cities Outlook 2026 identifies three consistent factors behind places that turn economic growth into rising living standards:
- A productive business base – particularly knowledge-based and tradeable firms that can grow beyond their local market
- Access to opportunity – helping more people into work and supporting skills development
- Removing growth constraints – including planning, housing and the availability of the right commercial space
The report also issues a clear warning:
“Without growth, cost-of-living fixes can only ever be temporary.”
What this means for Wakefield
Being recognised nationally is something Wakefield can be proud of – but it is not a reason to be complacent.
The challenge now is to build on what has worked and ensure that rising living standards are sustained and shared more widely across the city.
For the city centre, that means continuing to focus on:
- confidence and spend
- accessibility and opportunity
- business growth and investment
- a city centre people actively choose to visit and spend time in
Wakefield BID’s role
Wakefield BID will use this independent national evidence to strengthen the case for the city centre and for local businesses.
Our focus remains on practical delivery and long-term impact, including:
- Driving footfall and spend through events, campaigns and promotion
- Supporting businesses with training, engagement and shared opportunities
- Creating the right conditions for growth, including safety, cleanliness and confidence
- Advocating for Wakefield, using evidence to influence decisions that affect the city centre economy
Wakefield is on a positive trajectory. Cities Outlook 2026 reinforces that progress – and underlines the importance of continuing to invest in the city centre as a key driver of Wakefield’s future prosperity.
