Guston, Kent - iLiveHere: Best & Worst UK Towns Reviewed

Is Guston in Dover a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Guston older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Guston and Dover? What is the claimant count in Guston and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

Guston Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Guston residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Guston to the national average for England.

Level	Town & Castle	England
No Qualifications	24.33%	18.08%
Level 1	12.65%	9.69%
Level 2	14.4%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.32%	5.32%
Level 3	15.9%	16.92%
Level 4	22.8%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Guston Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Town & Castle.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Guston Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of Dover.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Dover	3.9%	-0.4%
South East	2.9%	-0.3%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Guston on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Guston.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	50.07%
In Part-Time Work	27.67%
Unemployed	8.88%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

72.33% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Guston

How many residents own or rent their home in Guston and Dover

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Guston either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 40.25 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 59.75 of Guston residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Town & Castle	40.25%	59.75%
Dover	66.22%	33.78%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Guston has a significantly lower level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically deprived area.

Guston compared to other wards in Dover

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Dover Downs & River	87.93%	12.07%
2	Alkham & Capel-le-Ferne	84.77%	15.23%
3	Maxton & Elms Vale	78.88%	21.12%
4	Guston, Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe	77.31%	22.69%
5	Whitfield (Dover)	76.72%	23.28%
6	Walmer	74.57%	25.43%
7	Eastry Rural	74.41%	25.59%
8	Little Stour & Ashstone	72.9%	27.1%
9	Sandwich	71.49%	28.51%
10	Aylesham, Eythorne & Shepherdswell	70.86%	29.14%
11	Middle Deal	67.77%	32.23%
12	Mill Hill (Dover)	65.79%	34.21%
13	North Deal	65.06%	34.94%
14	Buckland (Dover)	54.23%	45.77%
15	Town & Castle	40.25%	59.75%
16	Tower Hamlets	38.69%	61.31%
17	St Radigunds	38.1%	61.9%

Guston is ranked 15 out of 17 wards in Dover for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Guston?

The largest employment sector in Guston is Caring, leisure & Other Services. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Caring, leisure & Other Services	15.02%
Elementary Occupations	14.76%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.17%
Professional Occupations	10.96%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	10.79%
Skilled Trades	9.55%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.72%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	8.63%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Guston Health Statistics

Town & Castle has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Town & Castle	40.5%	34.76%	16.47%	6.6%	1.67%
Dover	44.2%	34.97%	14.63%	4.82%	1.37%
South East	49.98%	34.01%	11.77%	3.31%	0.93%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How has the health of residents in Dover changed since 2011?

Dover residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.45% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	43.37%	35.35%	14.99%	4.96%	1.33%
2021	44.2%	34.97%	14.63%	4.82%	1.37%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Guston & Dover Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Guston in the Dover local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Town & Castle	82.23%	17.77%
Dover	91.55%	8.45%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Guston compared to other wards in Dover

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Town & Castle	82.23%	17.77%
2	Tower Hamlets	86.42%	13.58%
3	St Radigunds	86.82%	13.18%
4	Guston, Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe	87.65%	12.35%
5	Aylesham, Eythorne & Shepherdswell	91.13%	8.87%
6	Buckland	91.68%	8.32%
7	Walmer	92.51%	7.49%
8	North Deal	92.63%	7.37%
9	Sandwich	92.97%	7.03%
10	Whitfield	93.38%	6.62%
11	Little Stour & Ashstone	93.75%	6.25%
12	Maxton & Elms Vale	93.93%	6.07%
13	Eastry Rural	94.59%	5.41%
14	Mill Hill	94.85%	5.15%
15	Alkham & Capel-le-Ferne	95.01%	4.99%
16	Dover Downs & River	95.11%	4.89%
17	Middle Deal	95.26%	4.74%

';Guston is ranked 1 out of 17 wards in Dover for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Guston and Dover?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Dover including Guston. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Alkham & Capel-le-Ferne	3206
Aylesham, Eythorne & Shepherdswell	11081
Buckland	7836
Dover Downs & River	6847
Eastry Rural	6861
Guston, Kingsdown & St Margaret's-at-Cliffe	7514
Little Stour & Ashstone	7278
Maxton & Elms Vale	3984
Middle Deal	7156
Mill Hill	7959
North Deal	7744
Sandwich	6619
St Radigunds	7339
Tower Hamlets	4824
Town & Castle	8993
Walmer	6885
Whitfield	6388
Dover Total	118514

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024