Data spanning the last 25 years, collected and analysed by the Social Mobility Commission, lays bare a stark reality – modern day Britain is plagued by regional inequalities.
The findings are set out in the Commission’s new State of the Nation report, the most comprehensive annual analysis of social mobility in the UK.
Data shows Britons growing up today in former industrial and mining heartlands across Yorkshire, the North East, the Midlands, Wales and Scotland, are still living with the impacts of deindustrialisation as these regions have faced half a century of economic disadvantage and decline.
These entrenched disadvantages have blocked progress on social mobility for young people across the UK, and Alun Francis, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission said “change needs to be quicker” in tackling “deep-rooted disadvantages” as the evidence shows little sign of the regional gap closing in the first two decades of the 21st century.
State of the Nation 2025 has shown those growing up in rural areas struggle with long and expensive travel distances to cities for further education, high-skilled jobs and training meaning many are ‘left behind’ from their peers in accessing skills needed to reap the rewards of a post-industrial economy.
The report also identified new ‘hubs’ outside of London that are on track to see booms in innovation and economic growth in coming years through our Innovation and Growth index:
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Oxfordshire
- Reading
- West Berkshire
- Cheshire Wester and Chester
- Aberdeen
- Edinburgh
These cities show a sign of hope in the future of social mobility and levelling the playing field across the UK by becoming magnets to international business and boosting local job opportunities.
Key findings from the report
- Within the UK, “extreme regional disparities exist”, with many former industrial and mining areas, such as the North East of England, Yorkshire and the Humber, and the West Midlands are still facing enduring disadvantages. Former mining areas in Wales and Scotland are also notably disadvantaged.
- There are new areas outside London with favourable conditions for innovation and growth including: Aberdeen, Brighton, Bristol, Cheshire West and Chester, Edinburgh, Oxfordshire, Reading and West Berkshire
- There are other potential development hubs outside of London including Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester, which are described as ‘magnets for international businesses and highly skilled migrants.’
- Almost half (48.2%) of young people aged 25 to 29 years were in professional occupations between 2022 and 2024. This is up from 36.1% between 2014 and 2016.
- Although more young people are in professional occupations, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds don’t benefit as much from these opportunities as their peers.
- The UK stands alongside countries like France and Japan in offering young people a good chance to exceed their parents educational achievement, but family background continues to heavily shape their life chances. The report found that, despite progress, a child’s education level still heavily depends on their parents’ background.
As well as publishing its State of the Nation report, the Social Mobility Commission has also released its latest interactive Data Explorer tool where individuals can look up their local area and see detailed insights about how education, ethnicity, and gender impact social mobility.
Alun Francis, Chair of the Social Mobility Commission, said:
“It is part of the cycle of innovation and economic development that opportunities move around. But in our country they have become over-concentrated in specific places. Far too many live and grow up in communities where opportunity has become very limited and outcomes are poor. We are seeing signs of positive change — with cities like Bristol, Edinburgh and Manchester showing what is possible — but the pace of change needs to be quicker and the scale much bigger.
“In the meantime, entire communities, often in post-industrial, seaside towns have been left behind with deep-rooted disadvantages. This is the defining social mobility challenge of our generation and our State of the Nation report captures the issues that we as a nation need to address.”
More about the data
- The annual report updates the Social Mobility Index, the most comprehensive summary of social mobility statistics in the UK.
- The report also carries out an extensive review of international comparisons on occupational, income, educational, housing and wealth mobility outcomes.
- The Indexes and comparisons allow the report to show early signs of success and of problems that need to be addressed.