Why Wolverhampton is one of the country's 'least prosperous' areas

Average incomes, house prices and the number of families with multiple cars all fall well below national averages.

The profile of the city, comprised by researchers at Grant Thornton, concludes its social characteristics are comparable to Walsall and Sandwell in the Black Country, but also Rochdale, Coventry and Middlesbrough further afield.

However, leader of Wolverhampton council, councillor Roger Lawrence, insisted the city has a 'very bright future' and questioned some of the data used in the report.

The bleak findings within the city profile include:

• The average total income in Wolverhampton is £23,600 compared with £31,363 nationally.

• The average house price in the city is £145,877 compared to £283,176 nationally.

• Just 25 percent of families have access to two or more cars compared to a total of 32 percent across the UK.

• Around one in three people in the city are unemployed compared to around one in four nationally.

The Grant Thornton researchers ranked Wolverhampton 364 out of 379 'districts' across the country based on its prosperity.

Concerns were also raised about health in the city which was found to have a "very high" infant mortality rate and nearly one in three people who are obese.

Responding to the report, councillor Lawrence, said: "Some of this data is old and our tight boundaries make comparisons rather meaningless.

"Like many inner city towns and cities, Wolverhampton has higher levels of deprivation than more affluent parts of the country and this is borne out in the statistics. We were hit extremely hard by the recession in 2008 and continue to be disproportionately affected by Government cuts to local government funding.

"However, these tough times have given the city council and its partners a renewed energy and focus to regenerate and transform our city and this is starting to bear fruit.

"Our city centre is undergoing £992 million of investment and everyone will have noticed the projects that have been completed or are underway like i10, Mander Centre redevelopment, university business school, The Way Youth Zone and Sunbeam Building.

"We have huge schemes in the pipeline like a brand new railway station and the multi-million Westside development. Unemployment has been falling and our schools are improving rapidly.

"These things take time, but I firmly believe Wolverhampton has turned a corner and has a very bright future."