That's rich! Postcode survey places Glaswegians among the wealthiest

A suburb of Glasgow, a city that has long been renowned for its high levels of poverty, is named today as one of the wealthiest postcode areas in Britain.

A suburb of Glasgow, a city that has long been renowned for its high levels of poverty, is named today as one of the wealthiest postcode areas in Britain.

Almost one in eight households in Thorntonhall, in the south of Glasgow, earns more than £100,000 a year – a figure that is matched only by part of Fleet in Hampshire.

According to a report by market researchers, 13 per cent of households in both areas enjoy six-figure incomes, which beats the 12.7 per cent in London's wealthiest area, Hampstead.

Thorntonhall, with its new estates of five-bedroom and six-bedroom homes, owes its status to well-paid executives ready to make the 20-minute commute into Glasgow.

The survey of more than 9,000 postcodes, by CACI Information Services, shows that 1.5 per cent of all UK households have incomes higher than £100,000. The average income in Britain last year was £26,200, which is 12.5 per cent higher than in 2000 and an increase of 34 per cent on 1996. Among the areas enjoying the biggest increase in prosperity are Plymouth, where the average income rose by 26.3 per cent from £17,500 in 2000 to £22,100 and the Isles of Scilly which enjoyed a 30.5 per cent rise from £18,700 to £24,400, still below the national average .

The place with the highest average income is Purley, south London, where residents of the CR8 postcode area earn £53,900, followed by Effingham, Surrey, with £52,700 and Hampstead with £51,000.

Britain's poorest postcode is Newcastle NE1 7 where 68 per cent of households earn less than £10,000.

The lowest average household incomes are found in the North of England. Newport Road in Middlesbrough ranks bottom with an average income of £11,600, which is only slightly bettered by Portrack Lane in neighbouring Stockton-on-Tees and Wilson Street in Middlesbrough.