Socio-economic statistics for Downside, Surrey

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

Downside 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 Elmbridge.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Elmbridge	2.1%	0%
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 Downside 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 Downside.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	54.69%
In Part-Time Work	28.48%
Unemployed	4.58%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

71.52% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Downside

How many residents own or rent their home in Downside and Elmbridge

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Downside either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 65.33 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 34.67 of Downside residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Cobham and Downside	65.33%	34.67%
Elmbridge	71.31%	28.69%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downside has a higher level of home ownership than than the national average.

Downside compared to other wards in Elmbridge

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Hinchley Wood and Weston Green	86.29%	13.71%
2	Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon	81.38%	18.62%
3	Claygate	80.22%	19.78%
4	Thames Ditton	78.99%	21.01%
5	Oatlands and Burwood Park	78.04%	21.96%
6	Long Ditton	75.67%	24.33%
7	Molesey East	72.33%	27.67%
8	Molesey West	70.58%	29.42%
9	Walton South	70.08%	29.92%
10	Esher	69.24%	30.76%
11	Hersham Village	68.37%	31.63%
12	Walton Central	65.6%	34.4%
13	Cobham and Downside	65.33%	34.67%
14	Weybridge Riverside	64.36%	35.64%
15	Weybridge St George's Hill	62.84%	37.16%
16	Walton North	58.31%	41.69%

Downside is ranked 13 out of 16 wards in Elmbridge for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downside Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Cobham and Downside	56.39%	29.93%	9.84%	3%	0.85%
Elmbridge	58.91%	29.53%	8.7%	2.19%	0.68%
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 Elmbridge changed since 2011?

Elmbridge residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	56.45%	30.99%	9.44%	2.46%	0.66%
2021	58.91%	29.53%	8.7%	2.19%	0.68%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downside Education Statistics

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

Level	Cobham and Downside	England
No Qualifications	14.57%	18.08%
Level 1	7.73%	9.69%
Level 2	11.82%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.01%	5.32%
Level 3	13.62%	16.92%
Level 4	45.21%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downside & Elmbridge 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 Downside in the Elmbridge local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Cobham and Downside	78.77%	21.23%
Elmbridge	78.59%	21.41%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Downside compared to other wards in Elmbridge

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon	70.09%	29.91%
2	Weybridge St George's Hill	72.07%	27.93%
3	Oatlands and Burwood Park	75.56%	24.44%
4	Weybridge Riverside	75.84%	24.16%
5	Walton Central	78.01%	21.99%
6	Esher	78.12%	21.88%
7	Walton South	78.23%	21.77%
8	Cobham and Downside	78.77%	21.23%
9	Molesey East	79.53%	20.47%
10	Long Ditton	80.05%	19.95%
11	Walton North	80.44%	19.56%
12	Hinchley Wood and Weston Green	80.98%	19.02%
13	Molesey West	81.87%	18.13%
14	Hersham Village	82.25%	17.75%
15	Thames Ditton	82.99%	17.01%
16	Claygate	84.33%	15.67%

';Downside is ranked 8 out of 16 wards in Elmbridge for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Downside?

The largest employment sector in Downside is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	25.63%
Professional Occupations	22.58%
Associate Professional & Technical	14.95%
Skilled Trades	7.42%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.4%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.21%
Elementary Occupations	6.03%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	3.13%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Downside Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Downside and Elmbridge?

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

Ward	Population
Claygate	7013
Cobham and Downside	9043
Esher	9486
Hersham Village	8440
Hinchley Wood and Weston Green	9086
Long Ditton	7255
Molesey East	8747
Molesey West	8510
Oatlands and Burwood Park	7957
Oxshott and Stoke D'Abernon	10783
Thames Ditton	8344
Walton Central	8255
Walton North	8516
Walton South	8781
Weybridge Riverside	8198
Weybridge St George's Hill	8801
Elmbridge Total	137215

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