Summary 3
Understanding Unsung Britain’s income sources is essential to understanding their living standards 7
Households in Unsung Britain have got smaller, but also more complex 11
Earnings have grown in importance in Unsung Britain’s total income, but there remains a deficit in work quality and security 14
The importance of benefit income has fallen, for both positive and negative reasons  17
Rising council tax and falling support to help pay has led to council tax taking up an increasing proportion of household income 23
Overall housing costs have fallen over the last 30 years, but some households are now more exposed to rising housing costs than others 27
Changing incomes and costs leave low-to-middle income households increasingly vulnerable to rising costs 30
Annex 1 33