Tyne and Wear tops the ranking, with 26% of homes socially rented, ahead of Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen. The full ranking is below, each entry linked to its page.

# County Social rent
1 Tyne and Wear 26%
2 Blaenau Gwent 24%
3 Torfaen 24%
4 Greater London 23%
5 Merthyr Tydfil 22%
6 West Midlands 22%
7 Greater Manchester 21%
8 Merseyside 21%
9 Wrexham 21%
10 Newport 20%
11 Scottish Borders 20%
12 South Yorkshire 20%
13 Caerphilly 19%
14 County Durham 19%
15 Neath Port Talbot 19%
16 Swansea 19%
17 Bristol 18%
18 Hertfordshire 18%
19 Northumberland 18%
20 West Yorkshire 18%
21 Cardiff 17%
22 East Riding of Yorkshire 17%
23 Gwynedd 17%
24 Cambridgeshire 16%
25 Isle of Anglesey 16%
26 Norfolk 16%
27 Nottinghamshire 16%
28 Pembrokeshire 16%
29 Staffordshire 16%
30 Worcestershire 16%
31 Bedfordshire 15%
32 Buckinghamshire 15%
33 Cheshire 15%
34 Derbyshire 15%
35 Flintshire 15%
36 Hampshire 15%
37 Northamptonshire 15%
38 Oxfordshire 15%
39 Shropshire 15%
40 Suffolk 15%
41 Wiltshire 15%
42 Berkshire 14%
43 Bridgend 14%
44 Carmarthenshire 14%
45 Cumbria 14%
46 Essex 14%
47 Herefordshire 14%
48 Kent 14%
49 Leicestershire 14%
50 Lincolnshire 14%
51 Monmouthshire 14%
52 North Yorkshire 14%
53 Powys 14%
54 Rhondda Cynon Taf 14%
55 Warwickshire 14%
56 Cornwall 13%
57 Denbighshire 13%
58 Devon 13%
59 Gloucestershire 13%
60 Lancashire 13%
61 Somerset 13%
62 The Vale of Glamorgan 13%
63 West Sussex 13%
64 Conwy 12%
65 Dorset 12%
66 East Sussex 12%
67 Isle of Wight 11%
68 Rutland 11%
69 Surrey 11%
70 Ceredigion 10%

Source: ONS Census 2021. Compiled by Postcodes UK.

Frequently asked questions

Which UK county has the most social housing?

Tyne and Wear tops the list, with 26% of homes socially rented, followed by Blaenau Gwent and Torfaen.

How is this ranking measured?

This ranking is based on ONS Census 2021. It covers the ceremonial counties of England and the council and principal areas of Scotland and Wales.