Key statistics — headline numbers for journalists
Source: NHS England Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report, 2024-25. Council-paid rates — self-funder rates are typically 20-40% higher.
Data angles — story hooks for journalists
1. The postcode lottery of care
Residential care costs range from £886/week in Wirral to £2,211/week in Devon — a 150% gap for the same regulated service. Where you live determines what you pay.
2. Self-funders subsidise council residents
The same care home bed costs self-funders 20-40% more than the council-paid rate. Providers use the higher private fees to cross-subsidise below-cost council placements — meaning those who have saved responsibly pay more for the same care.
3. The £23,250 trap
The means test threshold has been frozen at £23,250 since 2010 — in real terms, it has fallen by approximately 35% due to cumulative inflation. In 2010 prices, £23,250 would be worth around £15,100 today. The Conservative government's October 2025 reform was cancelled.
4. Short-term care costs more than long-term
Respite and post-hospital placements cost £56/week vs £1,196/week for permanent residential care. Short-term placements carry a premium because providers cannot fill beds predictably.
5. Regional divide
London care costs an average of £1,400/week vs £1,376/week in the North East — reflecting housing, labour, and property cost differentials that feed directly into care home fee structures.
Regional breakdown — residential care
Average council-paid residential care cost by English region, 2024-25.
| Region | Avg cost/week | LAs with data |
|---|---|---|
| South West EnglandMost expensive | £1,612 | 8 |
| South East England | £1,425 | 13 |
| Yorkshire & The Humber | £1,410 | 11 |
| East of England | £1,409 | 6 |
| London | £1,400 | 33 |
| North East England | £1,376 | 8 |
| West Midlands | £1,361 | 12 |
| East Midlands | £1,350 | 7 |
| North West EnglandLower-cost | £1,259 | 16 |
Averages computed from council-paid rates across local authorities with ASC-FR data for residential care (2024-25).
Top 10 lower-cost and most expensive councils — residential care
10 lower-cost council areas
| # | Council | Cost/week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wirral | £886 |
| 2 | Blackpool | £967 |
| 3 | Darlington | £1,000 |
| 4 | Sefton | £1,039 |
| 5 | Portsmouth | £1,067 |
| 6 | Lincolnshire | £1,075 |
| 7 | Manchester | £1,078 |
| 8 | Walsall | £1,087 |
| 9 | Nottingham | £1,111 |
| 10 | Bromley | £1,129 |
10 most expensive council areas
| # | Council | Cost/week |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Devon | £2,211 |
| 2 | Gateshead | £1,951 |
| 3 | Wandsworth | £1,918 |
| 4 | Greenwich | £1,867 |
| 5 | South Gloucestershire | £1,855 |
| 6 | Solihull | £1,837 |
| 7 | Wakefield | £1,775 |
| 8 | Hampshire | £1,706 |
| 9 | East Sussex | £1,691 |
| 10 | Nottinghamshire | £1,682 |
National median costs — all care types
Source: NHS England ASC-FR, 2024-25. Last updated 2026-05-18.
Download the data
Data is published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Free to use with attribution to NHS England ASC-FR and TreatCompare.
Suggested attribution
Methodology
Source: NHS England Adult Social Care Activity and Finance Report (ASC-FR), 2024-25.
Coverage: 116 upper-tier local authorities in England.
Refresh: Annual (October, when NHS England publishes the ASC-FR data pack).
What is measured: Unit costs (per week) paid by local authorities to care providers. These are the council-paid rates — the price each LA pays for a care home placement for its funded residents.
What is NOT measured: Private self-funder rates. Self-funders typically pay 20-40% more than the council-paid rate. The self-funder figures on this page are estimated at council rate + 30%.
Limitation: These are council-paid rates, not what self-funders pay. The actual premium varies by provider, location, and room type. ASC-FR data covers council-commissioned placements only.
TreatCompare ingests NHS England's annual ASC-FR data, joins each per-local-authority unit cost record with static LA metadata, and renders 4 service-category pages across 116 local authorities. Full methodology at /methodology#care-costs.
Press contact
For data queries or press enquiries: [email protected]. For custom data cuts, regional breakdowns, or chart embeds: [email protected]. TreatCompare is a trading name of Indexeli Intelligence Limited (Companies House 17096578).