---
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: 2026-10-20T23:58:21.235Z
date_note: "Retrieval time is not the filing, register-extract or editorial-review date; cite those dates from the content."
license: "Charity data © Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0"
---

[← All charity research](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/research)The shape of the sector

# How large are registered charities in England and Wales?

CharityCompare analysis · register extract 2026-10-04 · England and Wales

Explore the findingsRead the methods

Income of £100,000 or less

73.3%

of records with an eligible income figure

Income figures analysed

162,790

England and Wales · linked records excluded

Open and reproducible

Every observation

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

119,280 records report latest income of £100,000 or less. The denominator is 162,790 parent records with a disclosed, non-negative income figure. The figures cover different accounting periods.

## Latest reported income by band

Share of 162,790 eligible income observations. Each bar uses the same 0–100% scale; exact counts follow in the table.

- Zero income7.6%

- £1–£10,00028.9%

- £10,001–£100,00036.7%

- £100,001–£500,00017.3%

- £500,001–£1 million3.7%

- Over £1 million5.7%

How large are registered charities in England and Wales?. Extract 2026-10-04.
| Measure | Records | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Zero income | 12,430 | 7.6% |
| £1–£10,000 | 47,110 | 28.9% |
| £10,001–£100,000 | 59,740 | 36.7% |
| £100,001–£500,000 | 28,163 | 17.3% |
| £500,001–£1 million | 6,017 | 3.7% |
| Over £1 million | 9,330 | 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 171,864 parent registrations. We excluded 13,769 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, 9,072 records have no income figure and 2 have an invalid or negative value; both are excluded from the 162,790-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: 01919015d035efb8d763a5ab41b9743e9162fb82645c3237973b177c60441282.

## Download, cite or correct

[Download observations CSV](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/research-data/register-observations.csv)[Methods and source metadata](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/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 2026-10-04. 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://charitycompare.pages.dev/contact).

[Read the companion research report](https://charitycompare.pages.dev/research/register-data-quality)