Socio-economic statistics for Blists Hill, Shropshire

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

Blists Hill Health Statistics

Ironbridge Gorge has a lower proportion of residents (very_good_pc-$ward_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Ironbridge Gorge	45.26%	35.14%	14.61%	3.78%	1.2%
Telford and Wrekin	45.96%	34.08%	13.84%	4.75%	1.37%
West Midlands	46.4%	34.38%	13.54%	4.37%	1.31%
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 Telford and Wrekin changed since 2011?

Telford and Wrekin residents who describe their health as either good or very good has decreased by 0.15% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	45.87%	34.32%	13.57%	4.81%	1.42%
2021	45.96%	34.08%	13.84%	4.75%	1.37%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blists Hill Education Statistics

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

Level	Ironbridge Gorge	England
No Qualifications	15.98%	18.08%
Level 1	8.25%	9.69%
Level 2	14.24%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.03%	5.32%
Level 3	16.39%	16.92%
Level 4	39.77%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blists Hill 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 Telford and Wrekin.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Telford and Wrekin	3.5%	-0.5%
West Midlands	5%	-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 Blists Hill 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 Blists Hill.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	58.25%
In Part-Time Work	26.25%
Unemployed	4.14%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

73.75% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Blists Hill

Blists Hill & Telford and Wrekin 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 Blists Hill in the Telford and Wrekin local area district.

Blists Hill has a lower rate of immigrants than Telford and Wrekin, the West Midlands region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Ironbridge Gorge	96.22%	3.78%
Telford and Wrekin	88.62%	11.38%
West Midlands	84.84%	15.17%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blists Hill compared to other wards in Telford and Wrekin

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	College	76.18%	23.82%
2	Hadley & Leegomery	78.57%	21.43%
3	Arleston	79.05%	20.95%
4	The Nedge	81.25%	18.75%
5	Haygate	81.58%	18.42%
6	Donnington	84.82%	15.18%
7	Brookside	85.16%	14.84%
8	Wrockwardine Wood & Trench	86.31%	13.69%
9	Malinslee & Dawley Bank	86.67%	13.33%
10	Apley Castle	86.99%	13.01%
11	Oakengates & Ketley Bank	87.32%	12.68%
12	Priorslee	88.4%	11.6%
13	Ketley & Overdale	89.16%	10.84%
14	Woodside	90.23%	9.77%
15	Muxton	90.54%	9.46%
16	Madeley & Sutton Hill	91.02%	8.98%
17	Dothill	91.15%	8.85%
18	Ercall	91.3%	8.7%
19	Park	92.16%	7.84%
20	Horsehay & Lightmoor	92.37%	7.63%
21	Newport North & West	92.57%	7.43%
22	Shawbirch	93.18%	6.82%
23	Dawley & Aqueduct	93.18%	6.82%
24	St Georges	93.64%	6.36%
25	Admaston & Bratton	94.11%	5.89%
26	Wrockwardine	94.28%	5.72%
27	Newport South & East	94.71%	5.29%
28	Edgmond & Ercall Magna	95.26%	4.74%
29	Church Aston & Lilleshall	95.46%	4.54%
30	Ironbridge Gorge	96.22%	3.78%

';Blists Hill is ranked 30 out of 30 wards in Telford and Wrekin for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Blists Hill?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	22.33%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	17.23%
Associate Professional & Technical	16.42%
Skilled Trades	10.31%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.18%
Elementary Occupations	7.04%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.92%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	5.79%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

How many residents own or rent their home in Blists Hill and Telford and Wrekin

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Blists Hill either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 73.99 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 26.01 of Blists Hill residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Ironbridge Gorge	73.99%	26.01%
Telford and Wrekin	59.95%	40.05%
West Midlands	62.8%	37.2%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Blists Hill compared to other wards in Telford and Wrekin

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Admaston & Bratton	84.8%	15.2%
2	Apley Castle	83.22%	16.78%
3	Church Aston & Lilleshall	77.99%	22.01%
4	Shawbirch	77.97%	22.03%
5	Park (Telford and Wrekin)	77.11%	22.89%
6	Priorslee	76.16%	23.84%
7	Edgmond & Ercall Magna	75.55%	24.45%
8	Ironbridge Gorge	73.99%	26.01%
9	Ercall	73.82%	26.18%
10	Wrockwardine	72.9%	27.1%
11	Muxton	71.15%	28.85%
12	Horsehay & Lightmoor	69.41%	30.59%
13	Newport South & East	69.23%	30.77%
14	Dothill	65.6%	34.4%
15	Wrockwardine Wood & Trench	64.79%	35.21%
16	Newport North & West	62.74%	37.26%
17	Ketley & Overdale	62.64%	37.36%
18	Oakengates & Ketley Bank	57.45%	42.55%
19	St Georges (Telford and Wrekin)	55.75%	44.25%
20	Dawley & Aqueduct	55.61%	44.39%
21	Hadley & Leegomery	53.76%	46.24%
22	Arleston	53.54%	46.46%
23	The Nedge	52.48%	47.52%
24	Madeley & Sutton Hill	50.89%	49.11%
25	College (Telford and Wrekin)	49.49%	50.51%
26	Brookside	48.03%	51.97%
27	Donnington (Telford and Wrekin)	47.43%	52.57%
28	Malinslee & Dawley Bank	39.48%	60.52%
29	Haygate	37.61%	62.39%
30	Woodside (Telford and Wrekin)	34.92%	65.08%

Blists Hill is ranked 8 out of 30 wards in Telford and Wrekin for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blists Hill Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

What is the population of Blists Hill and Telford and Wrekin?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Telford and Wrekin including Blists Hill. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Admaston & Bratton	2939
Apley Castle	3454
Arleston	3652
Brookside	6601
Church Aston & Lilleshall	3241
College	3688
Dawley & Aqueduct	9296
Donnington	6997
Dothill	2703
Edgmond & Ercall Magna	6528
Ercall	2822
Hadley & Leegomery	10731
Haygate	4054
Horsehay & Lightmoor	7760
Ironbridge Gorge	2843
Ketley & Overdale	11618
Madeley & Sutton Hill	10693
Malinslee & Dawley Bank	6941
Muxton	7296
Newport North & West	6782
Newport South & East	5614
Oakengates & Ketley Bank	9647
Park	2324
Priorslee	7177
Shawbirch	2957
St Georges	5780
The Nedge	10210
Woodside	7626
Wrockwardine	3228
Wrockwardine Wood & Trench	6120
Telford and Wrekin Total	181322

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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