Harpenden Kids Savviest Savers With Balances More Than Double The Uk Average

PRLog (Press Release) - Jul. 8, 2011 - Children in Harpenden have the highest average savings balances in the UK, according to research conducted by Halifax. Boys and girls in this Hertfordshire town have an average savings balance of £3,046 – more than twice the UK average of £1,296.

North London is dominating the top ten towns for highest children’s savings balances (http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/accounts/childrens-savin...), with Pinner in Uxbridge (£2,251), Edgware (£2,230), Harrow (£2,149), Hounslow (£2,108) and Wembley (£2,106) all joining Harpenden in the top six towns.

Table 1 – Top ten towns with highest children’s average savings balance
Town   Region   Average Balance (£)
Harpenden   South East             3,046
Pinner   Greater London             2,251
Edgware   Greater London             2,230
Harrow   Greater London             2,149
Hounslow   Greater London             2,108
Wembley   Greater London             2,106
Altrincham   North West             2,044
Southall   Greater London             2,016
Ilford   Greater London             2,008
Barnet   Greater London             1,984
Source: Halifax.  Figures relate to April 2011.

Altrincham, in the North West area, is the only town in the top ten from outside London and the South East, with children here having an average balance of £2,044. Other areas outside southern England with higher than average children’s savings balances are West Bromwich in the West Midlands (£1,745), Wilmslow in Cheshire (£1,664) and Wetherby in West Yorkshire (£1,593).

There is also a significant variation between the largest average balances in Greater London (£1,652) and the lowest in the South West (£1,144) – a difference of 44%. This variation increases as individual towns are compared against each other. The lowest average balance of £898 is in the Hampshire town of Gosport, significantly lower than the highest recorded average in Harpenden.

Girls vs. Boys
Across the UK, the difference in average savings (http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/) between boys (£1,295) and girls (£1,291) is only £4. However, when balance differences between boys and girls are compared in each town, there is a greater difference. Girls in Altrincham have an average balance of £2,288 compared to £1,776 for boys – a difference of £512 or 29%. On the other hand, boys in Ilford in East London have a balance that is £83 above the average for girls.


Table 2: Top ten children's average savings balances by gender and town £
Town   Girls    Town   Boys
Altrincham   2,288   Harrow   2,121
Harrow   2,172   Ilford   2,050
Barnet   2,048   Barnet   1,927
Hounslow   2,024   Maidenhead   1,826
Ilford   1,967   Altrincham   1,776
Enfield   1,889   Slough   1,751
Slough   1,851   Sevenoaks   1,557
Maidenhead   1,801   Loughborough   1,554
Brentwood   1,683   Epsom   1,536
St Albans   1,651   Wolverhampton   1,531
Source: Halifax.  Figures relate to April 2011.

Nitesh Patel, savings economist at Halifax, comments:
"Children in Harpenden have the highest average savings balance at twice the UK average; whilst, many of the ten largest saving areas are in North London. Altrincham is the only town from outside southern England.

"Learning saving habits at an early age can play an important part in a child's future.  Equipping children with important life skills such as money management will prepare them for financial decisions later in life when they go to university or are looking to get on the housing ladder.”


Map 1: Children's average savings balances by gender and region


Source: Halifax April 2011

Editors' Notes

The data used in this research refers to balances at the end of April 2011 and relates to the balances per customer (i.e. it is an aggregate of all accounts held by the individual with Halifax).

1 Some children’s savings accounts must always be held in the name of the adult trustee until the child reaches 16 (such as with Regular Saver accounts - http://www.halifax.co.uk/savings/accounts/regular/regular...). There are other accounts (such as Save 4 It) which can be opened in the child's sole name when a legible signature can be provided (age 7 upwards is recommended). The figures in this report, by their very nature, exclude children who have no savings.

"This report is prepared from information that we believe is collated with care, however, it is only intended to highlight issues and it is not intended to be comprehensive.  We reserve the right to vary our methodology and to edit or discontinue/withdraw this, or any other report.  Any use of this report for an individual's own or third party commercial purposes is done entirely at the risk of the person making such use and solely the responsibility of the person or persons making such reliance.  © Bank of Scotland all rights reserved 2011."