Care home residents face stark north-south divide in who pays for care

Care home residents in the North East are around half as likely to pay privately for their care as those living in the South East, according to new figures from the Care Quality Commission.

The regulator’s State of Care report found that 47% of care home residents in the South East funded their own care during 2025/26, compared with 24% in the North East. Self-funding was also comparatively high in the East of England at 42% and the South West at 41%, while the North West recorded the second-lowest proportion at 30%.

Across England, 37% of people living in care homes were self-funders, a small increase from 36% in each of the previous two years. CQC defines self-funders as people who privately pay for their care, either entirely or alongside limited support from another source.

The regulator said financial pressures were increasingly leading care providers to seek residents who could pay privately and be charged higher fees. It warned that council payments remained below the rising cost of delivering care, despite local authority spending increasing.

People with more than £23,250 in savings and investments are generally expected to meet the full cost of their social care. CQC highlighted that this threshold has remained unchanged since 2010/11, meaning it has failed to keep pace with inflation and more people may now have to contribute towards their care.

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