---
title: "Charity income distribution: England and Wales"
description: "Explore registered charities by latest income band in England and Wales."
source: https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research/charity-income-distribution
retrieved: 2026-09-20T13:38:42.226Z
license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0"
---

[← All charity research](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research) Income of £100,000 or less

73.3%

of records with an eligible income figure

Income figures analysed

162,736

England and Wales · linked records excluded

Open and reproducible

Every observation

Definitions, source checksum and [downloadable data](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research-data/register-observations.csv)

119,314 records report latest income of £100,000 or less. The denominator is 162,736 parent records with a disclosed, non-negative income figure. The figures cover different accounting periods.

## Latest reported income by band

Share of 162,736 eligible income observations. Each bar uses the same 0–100% scale; exact counts follow in the table.

- Zero income7.6%

- £1–£10,00029.0%

- £10,001–£100,00036.7%

- £100,001–£500,00017.3%

- £500,001–£1 million3.7%

- Over £1 million5.7%
| Measure | Records | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Zero income | 12,425 | 7.6% |
| £1–£10,000 | 47,233 | 29.0% |
| £10,001–£100,000 | 59,656 | 36.7% |
| £100,001–£500,000 | 28,081 | 17.3% |
| £500,001–£1 million | 6,020 | 3.7% |
| Over £1 million | 9,321 | 5.7% |

## What these findings mean

A directory organised only around familiar national names misses many smaller organisations. Income bands help users compare the scale of an organisation, while service type and location help identify its relevance.

Size does not establish quality, efficiency or impact. A charity with land, research grants or commissioned services can have a very different financial model from a small volunteer group.

## Population, methods and limitations

We parsed the Charity Commission’s tab-separated full extract and selected records marked Registered with linked-charity suffix 0. This yields 171,859 parent registrations. We excluded 13,780 registered linked records from the analysis and did not combine Scottish or Northern Irish registers. This is not a count of every UK charity or every unique UK organisation.

For income bands, 9,121 records have no income figure and 2 have an invalid or negative value; both are excluded from the 162,736-record denominator. The source uses latest reported financial periods, so the figures do not form a same-year sector income total. Percentages are rounded to one decimal place.

“Over three years” means the recorded accounts end is strictly earlier than the extract date minus three calendar years. Missing dates are a separate group. The union measure removes overlap between old accounts and explicit zero income and expenditure.

Reproduce using `artifacts/web/scripts/build-research.ts`. The downloadable methods include the source checksum and exact definitions. Source text SHA-256: 9668bf0061b8d02721619d4adcb990fd8a16243a55498979ca8b3a0759a64e4f.

## Download, cite or correct

[Download observations CSV](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research-data/register-observations.csv)[Methods and source metadata](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research-data/methodology.json)

Suggested citation: CharityCompare, “How large are registered charities in England and Wales?”, analysis of the Charity Commission for England and Wales extract dated 2026-09-08. Cite this page and retain its limitations when using the figures.

[Official source extract](https://ccewuksprdoneregsadata1.blob.core.windows.net/data/txt/publicextract.charity.zip) · [Open Government Licence v3](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/) · [Report a data or interpretation error](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/contact).

[Read the companion research report](https://www.charitycompare.org.uk/research/register-data-quality)