Socio-economic statistics for Barrow, Lancashire

Is Barrow in Ribble Valley 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 Barrow older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Barrow and Ribble Valley? What is the claimant count in Barrow and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

How many residents own or rent their home in Barrow and Ribble Valley

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Barrow either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 83.61 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 16.39 of Barrow residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Whalley Nethertown	83.61%	16.39%
Ribble Valley	75.47%	24.53%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Barrow has a significantly higher level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically wealthy area.

Barrow compared to other wards in Ribble Valley

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Wilpshire & Ramsgreave	90.6%	9.4%
2	Brockhall & Dinckley	90.27%	9.73%
3	East Whalley, Read & Simonstone	84.07%	15.93%
4	Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury	83.88%	16.12%
5	Whalley Nethertown	83.61%	16.39%
6	West Bradford & Grindleton	83.45%	16.55%
7	Mellor	83.2%	16.8%
8	Billington & Langho	81.19%	18.81%
9	Alston & Hothersall	80.04%	19.97%
10	Dilworth	79.68%	20.32%
11	Ribchester	79.11%	20.89%
12	Wiswell & Barrow	75.79%	24.21%
13	Whalley & Painter Wood	75.75%	24.25%
14	Gisburn & Rimington	75.68%	24.32%
15	Waddington, Bashall Eaves & Mitton	74.67%	25.33%
16	Sabden	72.97%	27.03%
17	St Mary's (Ribble Valley)	72.3%	27.7%
18	Edisford & Low Moor	71.29%	28.71%
19	Bowland	70.51%	29.49%
20	Chipping	70.38%	29.62%
21	Hurst Green & Whitewell	68.6%	31.4%
22	Primrose (Ribble Valley)	67.53%	32.47%
23	Littlemoor	66.44%	33.56%
24	Salthill	65.73%	34.27%
25	Chatburn	65.58%	34.42%
26	Derby & Thornley	65.29%	34.71%

Barrow is ranked 5 out of 26 wards in Ribble Valley for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Barrow 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 Ribble Valley.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Ribble Valley	1.9%	0%
North West	4.3%	-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 Barrow 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 Barrow.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	66.01%
In Part-Time Work	23.13%
Unemployed	1.78%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

76.87% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Barrow

Barrow Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Barrow 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 Barrow to the national average for England.

Level	Whalley Nethertown	England
No Qualifications	7.44%	18.08%
Level 1	10.68%	9.69%
Level 2	12.91%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.13%	5.32%
Level 3	15.3%	16.92%
Level 4	47.61%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Barrow Health Statistics

Whalley Nethertown has significantly more residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Whalley Nethertown	61.76%	26.49%	9.91%	1.06%	0.79%
Ribble Valley	52.57%	32.1%	11.56%	3.01%	0.76%
North West	47.73%	32.71%	13.36%	4.77%	1.43%
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 Ribble Valley changed since 2011?

Ribble Valley residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.02% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	51.49%	32.16%	12.34%	3.16%	0.85%
2021	52.57%	32.1%	11.56%	3.01%	0.76%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Barrow Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Whalley Nethertown.

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)

Barrow & Ribble Valley 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 Barrow in the Ribble Valley local area district.

Barrow has a lower rate of immigrants than Ribble Valley, the North West region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Whalley Nethertown	95.96%	4.04%
Ribble Valley	95.8%	4.2%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Barrow compared to other wards in Ribble Valley

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Hurst Green & Whitewell	91.23%	8.77%
2	Salthill	93.03%	6.97%
3	Littlemoor	93.62%	6.38%
4	Primrose	94.4%	5.6%
5	Brockhall & Dinckley	94.57%	5.43%
6	Edisford & Low Moor	95.52%	4.48%
7	Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury	95.57%	4.43%
8	Wilpshire & Ramsgreave	95.75%	4.25%
9	Billington & Langho	95.85%	4.15%
10	Whalley Nethertown	95.96%	4.04%
11	St Mary's	95.96%	4.04%
12	Mellor	96.21%	3.79%
13	Alston & Hothersall	96.37%	3.63%
14	Waddington, Bashall Eaves & Mitton	96.46%	3.54%
15	East Whalley, Read & Simonstone	96.61%	3.39%
16	Whalley & Painter Wood	96.63%	3.37%
17	Chipping	96.88%	3.12%
18	Gisburn & Rimington	96.94%	3.06%
19	Derby & Thornley	96.98%	3.02%
20	Ribchester	96.99%	3.01%
21	Wiswell & Barrow	97.02%	2.98%
22	Dilworth	97.05%	2.95%
23	Sabden	97.15%	2.85%
24	Bowland	97.22%	2.78%
25	West Bradford & Grindleton	97.22%	2.78%
26	Chatburn	97.51%	2.49%

';Barrow is ranked 10 out of 26 wards in Ribble Valley for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Barrow?

The largest employment sector in Barrow is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	28.7%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	23.21%
Associate Professional & Technical	15.82%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.93%
Skilled Trades	6.38%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	5.61%
Elementary Occupations	3.83%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	3.32%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Barrow and Ribble Valley?

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

Ward	Population
Alston & Hothersall	2751
Billington & Langho	3400
Bowland	1454
Brockhall & Dinckley	1918
Chatburn	1345
Chipping	1517
Clayton-le-Dale & Salesbury	1604
Derby & Thornley	3130
Dilworth	2881
East Whalley, Read & Simonstone	2832
Edisford & Low Moor	3536
Gisburn & Rimington	1341
Hurst Green & Whitewell	1721
Littlemoor	2969
Mellor	2695
Primrose	3882
Ribchester	1639
Sabden	1568
Salthill	3634
St Mary's	3070
Waddington, Bashall Eaves & Mitton	1515
West Bradford & Grindleton	1740
Whalley & Painter Wood	2555
Whalley Nethertown	1979
Wilpshire & Ramsgreave	3267
Wiswell & Barrow	2083
Ribble Valley Total	62026

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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