Socio-economic statistics for Lower Higham, Kent

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

Lower Higham Education Statistics

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

Level	Higham	England
No Qualifications	17.48%	18.08%
Level 1	10.76%	9.69%
Level 2	15.97%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.24%	5.32%
Level 3	17.67%	16.92%
Level 4	27.97%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Higham Health Statistics

Higham has more residents (very_good_pc-$country_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Higham (Gravesham)	49.8%	34.32%	11.29%	3.46%	1.14%
Gravesham	48.66%	34.07%	12.43%	3.82%	1.02%
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 Gravesham changed since 2011?

Gravesham residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.26% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	46.5%	34.97%	13.4%	4.03%	1.1%
2021	48.66%	34.07%	12.43%	3.82%	1.02%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Higham & Gravesham 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 Lower Higham in the Gravesham local area district.

Lower Higham has a lower rate of immigrants than Gravesham, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Higham (Gravesham)	93.26%	6.74%
Gravesham	80.76%	19.24%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Higham compared to other wards in Gravesham

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Pelham	65.3%	34.7%
2	Riverside	66.67%	33.33%
3	Central	71.33%	28.67%
4	Northfleet North	72.7%	27.3%
5	Northfleet South	75.04%	24.96%
6	Woodlands	82.78%	17.22%
7	Westcourt	82.88%	17.12%
8	Whitehill	83.73%	16.27%
9	Coldharbour	84.34%	15.66%
10	Singlewell	84.51%	15.49%
11	Painters Ash	87.19%	12.81%
12	Riverview	88.34%	11.66%
13	Chalk	89.84%	10.16%
14	Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown	92.29%	7.71%
15	Higham	93.26%	6.74%
16	Istead Rise	93.73%	6.27%
17	Meopham North	93.95%	6.05%
18	Meopham South and Vigo	94.65%	5.35%

';Lower Higham is ranked 15 out of 18 wards in Gravesham for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Lower Higham and Gravesham

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Lower Higham either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 80.86 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 19.14 of Lower Higham residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Higham (Gravesham)	80.86%	19.14%
Gravesham	62.22%	37.78%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Lower Higham compared to other wards in Gravesham

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Istead Rise	91.76%	8.24%
2	Meopham South and Vigo	90.63%	9.37%
3	Riverview	89.33%	10.67%
4	Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown	82.56%	17.44%
5	Meopham North	82.42%	17.58%
6	Higham (Gravesham)	80.86%	19.14%
7	Chalk	80.4%	19.6%
8	Painters Ash	75.87%	24.13%
9	Woodlands (Gravesham)	73.22%	26.78%
10	Whitehill	68.82%	31.18%
11	Central (Gravesham)	56.25%	43.75%
12	Northfleet South	55.28%	44.72%
13	Westcourt	53.64%	46.36%
14	Singlewell	52.77%	47.23%
15	Coldharbour	47.83%	52.17%
16	Riverside (Gravesham)	43.22%	56.78%
17	Pelham	43.06%	56.94%
18	Northfleet North	40.98%	59.02%

Lower Higham is ranked 6 out of 18 wards in Gravesham for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Higham 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 Gravesham.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Gravesham	4.3%	-0.2%
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 Lower Higham 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 Lower Higham.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.98%
In Part-Time Work	27.76%
Unemployed	4.43%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

72.24% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Lower Higham

Lower Higham Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 are the occupations of the residents of Lower Higham?

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

Sector	Proportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	17.86%
Professional Occupations	17.52%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.89%
Administrative & Secretarial	12.39%
Skilled Trades	11.22%
Elementary Occupations	7.42%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.37%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	5.8%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Lower Higham and Gravesham?

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

Ward	Population
Central	7139
Chalk	2181
Coldharbour	4979
Higham	3850
Istead Rise	3363
Meopham North	4373
Meopham South and Vigo	4325
Northfleet North	8810
Northfleet South	8945
Painters Ash	5454
Pelham	8171
Riverside	10124
Riverview	4268
Shorne, Cobham and Luddesdown	4239
Singlewell	8203
Westcourt	7033
Whitehill	4477
Woodlands	6956
Gravesham Total	106890

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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