West Midlands rank income distribution and work-life balance as priorities above UK average – claim

Cities in the West Midlands included in PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index are generally performing above or in line with the UK average on work-life balance, transport, youth and adult skills, and income distribution. 

The Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index ranks 51 of the UK’s largest cities (generally considered those with populations of at least 350,000 people), plus the London boroughs as a whole, based on the public’s assessment of 12 economic measures, including jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street shops, environment and business startups.

Stoke-on-Trent has increased its ranking from 21st to 16th, compared to last year’s index, and Coventry has maintained its position at 27th. The full West Midlands rankings out of 51 cities is as follows:

• Stoke-on-Trent - 16th
• Coventry - 27th
• Wolverhampton - 39th
• Walsall - 48th
• Birmingham - 49th

Looking at economic growth, the report states that the West Midlands is expected to see slower economic growth compared to the 12 UK regions in both 2023 and 2024, with a growth rate of 0.7 per cent in 2024, and 1.7 per cent in 2025. This compares to the UK average of 1.0 per cent in 2024 and 1.7 per cent in 2025. 

David Morris (pictured), Midlands regional market lead, PwC, said: “The latest Good Growth for Cities index reaffirms what we've been discussing for a while: the West Midlands is lagging behind in terms of growth.

“That said, there are pockets where we’re starting to see improvement, notably Stoke-on-Trent increasing in the rankings and achieving higher scores on areas such as skills, income distribution and work life balance. 

“We’ve been through an extended period of economic instability and uncertainty, but we’re starting to see the green shoots of recovery with inflation easing.

“The West Midlands has a real opportunity to prosper over the next few years if the right investments are made.

“PwC’s recently launched Framework for Growth report highlighted the need for businesses and government to work together to deliver sustainable growth and outcomes for the future.

“Elsewhere in the Framework for Growth report, skills, education and talent was identified as the top priority for growth by 68 per cent of the UK businesses surveyed. I believe that by investing in skills for younger generations and ensuring our current workforce is equipped with skills for the future, we will move the dial on the West Midlands economy, and the time to act is now.” 

Plymouth is the highest performing city in the annual Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index, with Bristol rising to second place and Southampton remaining in third place. These cities scored particularly highly across income distribution, work-life balance, jobs and skills. 

Cities across the South West region lead the latest Index, with Plymouth, Bristol, Swindon and Exeter all being among the highest performing cities, scoring above the UK average for health & safety and skills.

Despite this, the region’s cities score less well on new businesses and house price-to-earnings relative to the rest of the UK.

Analysis in the Index shows the performance on house price-to-earnings ratio saw the largest decline across UK cities from last year’s Index - with the average house now costing over eight times the average earnings, compared to just four times in the 1990s.

Cities with the largest social housing waiting lists, such as London, Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle, are among the lowest performing cities in the Index.