RESEARCH: Demographics of Social Housing

This interactive map visualises the percentage of social housing tenants in England who are foreign-born, using data from the 2021 Census. Unfortunately, data for Scotland and Wales is not yet available.

This map is important because it reveals just how much of our publicly funded housing stock is allocated to foreign-born individuals, rather than prioritising our own people—many of whom wait years for a home, only to be pushed further down the list. Despite frequent denials, the data makes the reality clear. The visualisation of the data highlights this reality starkly, particularly in urban areas, with many cities rising over 70% and many towns hovering at 20%.

How to Use:

• Wait for the map to load below.
• Zoom in and out using the + and – buttons to explore different areas.
• Click and drag to move the map.
• Hover over any area to see the council name and the percentage of social housing tenants who are foreign-born.
• The darker the red, the higher the proportion of foreign-born tenants in that area, but be mindful that even a darker shade of yellow represents a worrying amount.
• There is a lot of data, so you may need to wait for it to load. If you experience any issues, try refreshing the page.

Explore the map and see for yourself.