Turnout (the share of registered voters who actually cast a ballot) varies hugely from place to place. We've ranked every area by turnout at its most recent election since 2021, grouped by election type (a general election and a council election can't be fairly compared).
Councils ranked by average ward turnout at their most recent election.
241 ranked
1Winchester City CouncilMay 2026 · turnout published for 14 of 15 wards51.8%
2London Borough of Richmond upon ThamesMay 2026 · all 18 wards50.7%
3London Borough of BromleyMay 2026 · all 22 wards49.7%
4Brentwood Borough CouncilMay 2026 · turnout published for 12 of 13 wards49.3%
5East Surrey CouncilMay 2026 · all 36 wards49.1%
6Trafford Metropolitan Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 21 wards48.9%
7Worthing Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 13 wards48.9%
8East Sussex County CouncilMay 2026 · turnout published for 42 of 50 wards48.5%
9South Cambridgeshire District CouncilMay 2026 · all 26 wards48.2%
10Fareham Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 16 wards47.5%
11Wokingham Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 18 wards47.3%
12West Sussex County CouncilMay 2026 · all 70 wards47.2%
13Adur District CouncilMay 2026 · all 14 wards47.1%
14West Oxfordshire District CouncilMay 2026 · all 16 wards47.0%
15Powys County CouncilMay 2022 · turnout published for 40 of 53 wards46.8%
16Cheltenham Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 20 wards46.7%
17Oldham Metropolitan Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 20 wards46.5%
18West Surrey CouncilMay 2026 · all 45 wards46.0%
19Epping Forest District CouncilMay 2026 · all 18 wards45.9%
20Tunbridge Wells Borough CouncilMay 2026 · turnout published for 11 of 13 wards45.8%
21London Borough of HaveringMay 2026 · all 20 wards45.7%
22St Albans City and District CouncilMay 2026 · all 20 wards45.7%
23Gateshead Metropolitan Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 22 wards45.4%
24Norfolk County CouncilMay 2026 · all 84 wards45.4%
25Hampshire County CouncilMay 2026 · all 76 wards45.1%
26Three Rivers District CouncilMay 2026 · all 13 wards44.9%
27Newcastle City CouncilMay 2026 · all 26 wards44.7%
28Exeter City CouncilMay 2026 · all 13 wards44.6%
29Suffolk County CouncilMay 2026 · all 69 wards44.4%
30Swindon Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 25 wards44.4%
31London Borough of HaringeyMay 2026 · all 21 wards44.1%
32London Borough of IslingtonMay 2026 · all 17 wards44.1%
33Essex County CouncilMay 2026 · all 77 wards44.0%
34Stockport Metropolitan Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 21 wards44.0%
35Rushcliffe Borough CouncilMay 2023 · all 24 wards43.8%
36South Tyneside CouncilMay 2026 · all 18 wards43.8%
37Isle of Wight CouncilMay 2026 · all 39 wards43.5%
38Carmarthenshire County CouncilMay 2022 · turnout published for 49 of 50 wards43.2%
39Stroud District CouncilMay 2024 · all 27 wards43.1%
40Huntingdonshire District CouncilMay 2026 · all 26 wards43.0%
41Rugby Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 14 wards42.8%
42Basingstoke and Deane Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 18 wards42.6%
43Eastleigh Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 14 wards42.6%
44Kirklees CouncilMay 2026 · all 23 wards42.5%
45Oxford City CouncilMay 2026 · all 24 wards42.3%
46London Borough of BarnetMay 2026 · all 24 wards42.2%
47Havant Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 12 wards42.2%
48Sheffield City CouncilMay 2026 · all 28 wards42.1%
49Crawley Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 12 wards41.9%
50Rushmoor Borough CouncilMay 2026 · all 13 wards41.9%
Turnout figures come from official declarations and aren't reported for every contest; areas without figures are left out rather than guessed. Council turnout is the average across the wards that reported at that council's most recent election. By-elections are excluded throughout. Where the 2024 General Election figure was missing from our feed, we use the Electoral Commission's published turnout instead.