Care Deserts UK 2026 — Areas with the Fewest Care Homes per Resident

A care desert is a local authority area where care home provision has fallen below a critical threshold. This analysis identifies areas with fewer than 2 care homes per 10,000 population and examines whether low supply correlates with higher costs.

How we define a care desert

We define a care desert as a local authority with fewer than 2 care homes per 10,000 population. This uses total population, not over-65 population — meaning the effective ratio for older residents who actually use care homes is significantly worse.

For context, the national average is 2.6 care homes per 10,000 population. An area below the 2 threshold has less than 77% of the national average provision.

Key findings

Local authorities below desert threshold

0.3

Lowest homes per 10k (Tower Hamlets)

2.6

National average homes per 10k

Areas with the fewest care homes per capita

The 30 local authorities with the lowest care home density. Areas highlighted in red fall below the 2 homes per 10,000 desert threshold.

Rank	Local authority	Region	Population	Total homes	Homes per 10k	Weekly cost
1	Tower Hamlets	London	310,300	10	0.3	£1,415
2	Westminster	London	204,400	9	0.4	£1,591
3	Southwark	London	307,700	14	0.5	£1,190
4	Hackney	London	259,200	13	0.5	£1,246
5	Camden	London	210,100	12	0.6	£1,392
6	Hammersmith and Fulham	London	183,200	11	0.6	£1,284
7	Newham	London	351,100	24	0.7	£1,249
8	Wandsworth	London	327,500	26	0.8	£1,918
9	Islington	London	216,600	18	0.8	£1,594
10	Kensington and Chelsea	London	143,400	11	0.8	£1,422
11	Haringey	London	264,100	24	0.9	£1,202
12	Ealing	London	366,000	38	1	£1,413
13	Lambeth	London	317,800	34	1.1	£1,420
14	Hounslow	London	292,300	32	1.1	£1,633
15	Barking and Dagenham	London	218,900	23	1.1	£1,347
16	Bexley	London	247,000	31	1.3	£1,502
17	Brent	London	339,800	48	1.4	£1,174
18	Manchester	North West	552,858	84	1.5	£1,078
19	Hillingdon	London	305,900	47	1.5	£1,449
20	Greenwich	London	289,100	43	1.5	£1,867
21	Tameside	North West	230,400	35	1.5	£1,392
22	Portsmouth	South East	208,100	32	1.5	£1,067
23	Bromley	London	332,400	52	1.6	£1,129
24	Salford	North West	269,900	43	1.6	£1,312
25	Liverpool	North West	496,770	85	1.7	£1,222
26	Wigan	North West	329,400	57	1.7	£1,348
27	Lewisham	London	300,500	50	1.7	£1,213
28	Milton Keynes	South East	287,060	49	1.7	£1,507
29	Waltham Forest	London	278,100	46	1.7	£1,287
30	Merton	London	215,000	37	1.7	£1,602

Population from ONS mid-year estimates. Care home counts from the CQC Care Directory.

Best-served areas — most care homes per capita

The 10 local authorities with the highest care home density. These areas offer residents the most choice.

Rank	Local authority	Region	Population	Total homes	Homes per 10k	Weekly cost
1	East Sussex	South East	552,200	287	5.2	£1,691
2	Blackpool	North West	139,305	71	5.1	£967
3	Isle of Wight	South East	140,400	63	4.5	£1,192
4	East Riding of Yorkshire	Yorkshire & Humberside	342,200	149	4.4	£1,659
5	Sefton	North West	279,800	111	4	£1,039
6	West Sussex	South East	882,800	339	3.8	£1,617
7	Devon	South West	814,700	310	3.8	£2,211
8	Lincolnshire	East Midlands	770,200	288	3.7	£1,075
9	Shropshire	West Midlands	323,600	115	3.6	£1,437
10	Norfolk	East	913,900	323	3.5	£1,288

Correlation with cost

Do areas with fewer care homes charge more? We compared average weekly costs between the bottom quartile (fewest homes per capita) and top quartile (most homes per capita) of local authorities with available cost data.

Areas in the bottom quartile for care home density pay an average of £1,373/week, compared to £1,402/week in the top quartile.

Interestingly, areas with more care homes actually charge more on average (£29/week difference). This may reflect that well-served areas tend to be in higher-cost regions such as the South East and London, where land and staffing costs are higher.

Based on 109 local authorities with both CQC home counts and ASC-FR cost data. Quartile size: 27 LAs.

Frequently asked questions

What is a care desert?

A care desert is a local authority area with fewer than 2 care homes per 10,000 population. This threshold uses total population, not over-65 population — meaning the true ratio for older residents is even worse. Care deserts typically arise in urban areas with high population density where land costs make care home development uneconomical.

Which area has the fewest care homes?

Tower Hamlets in London has the fewest care homes per capita, with just 0.3 homes per 10,000 population. This compares to a national average of 2.6 per 10,000.

Why do some areas have so few care homes?

Several factors drive low care home density: high land and property costs (especially in London), planning restrictions, low fee rates paid by local councils making homes financially unviable, and historic underinvestment. The care home sector has seen net closures in many areas, with older homes closing faster than new ones open. Areas with younger populations may also have fewer homes simply because demand is lower — but this still leaves older residents with fewer local options.

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Data sources: CQC Care Directory for care home counts (Open Government Licence v3.0). ONS mid-year population estimates. NHS England ASC-FR for weekly cost data. Analysis by TreatCompare. Desert threshold of 2 homes per 10,000 is an editorial definition based on national distribution.