Socio-economic statistics for The Down, Kent

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

The Down & Tunbridge Wells 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 The Down in the Tunbridge Wells local area district.

The Down has a lower rate of immigrants than Tunbridge Wells, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	91.63%	8.37%
Tunbridge Wells	86.49%	13.51%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

The Down compared to other wards in Tunbridge Wells

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Culverden	75.47%	24.53%
2	St James'	76.88%	23.12%
3	Broadwater	79.58%	20.42%
4	Sherwood	80.82%	19.18%
5	Park	82.26%	17.74%
6	Pantiles and St Mark's	85.26%	14.74%
7	St John's	85.33%	14.67%
8	Southborough and High Brooms	88%	12%
9	Southborough North	89.23%	10.77%
10	Pembury	89.75%	10.25%
11	Speldhurst and Bidborough	89.77%	10.23%
12	Benenden and Cranbrook	90.31%	9.69%
13	Rusthall	90.74%	9.26%
14	Brenchley and Horsmonden	91.12%	8.88%
15	Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	91.63%	8.37%
16	Hawkhurst and Sandhurst	92.63%	7.37%
17	Frittenden and Sissinghurst	92.69%	7.31%
18	Capel	92.78%	7.22%
19	Paddock Wood West	93.07%	6.93%
20	Paddock Wood East	93.46%	6.54%

';The Down is ranked 15 out of 20 wards in Tunbridge Wells for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

The Down 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 Tunbridge Wells.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Tunbridge Wells	2.3%	-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 The Down 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 The Down.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	58.79%
In Part-Time Work	30.46%
Unemployed	3.68%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

69.54% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in The Down

What are the occupations of the residents of The Down?

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

Sector	Proportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	24.1%
Professional Occupations	21.67%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.96%
Skilled Trades	11.03%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.62%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.34%
Elementary Occupations	6.16%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.03%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

The Down Education Statistics

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

Level	Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	England
No Qualifications	11.48%	18.08%
Level 1	8.96%	9.69%
Level 2	15.26%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	3.78%	5.32%
Level 3	15.86%	16.92%
Level 4	42.73%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

The Down Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

How many residents own or rent their home in The Down and Tunbridge Wells

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in The Down either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 70.08 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 29.92 of The Down residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	70.08%	29.92%
Tunbridge Wells	65.1%	34.9%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

The Down compared to other wards in Tunbridge Wells

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Speldhurst and Bidborough	82.45%	17.55%
2	Brenchley and Horsmonden	77.08%	22.92%
3	Frittenden and Sissinghurst	75.08%	24.92%
4	Paddock Wood West	74.67%	25.33%
5	Pantiles and St Mark's	72.41%	27.59%
6	Pembury	72.11%	27.89%
7	Southborough North	71.77%	28.23%
8	Capel	70.68%	29.32%
9	Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	70.08%	29.92%
10	Hawkhurst and Sandhurst	69.67%	30.33%
11	Paddock Wood East	67.53%	32.47%
12	St John's (Tunbridge Wells)	67.05%	32.95%
13	Park (Tunbridge Wells)	65.37%	34.63%
14	Benenden and Cranbrook	63.98%	36.02%
15	Rusthall	61.77%	38.23%
16	Southborough and High Brooms	60.28%	39.72%
17	Broadwater (Tunbridge Wells)	55.03%	44.97%
18	Sherwood (Tunbridge Wells)	54.38%	45.62%
19	Culverden	53.2%	46.8%
20	St James' (Tunbridge Wells)	48.48%	51.52%

The Down is ranked 9 out of 20 wards in Tunbridge Wells for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

The Down Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	56.81%	29.73%	10.49%	2.31%	0.66%
Tunbridge Wells	52.76%	32.53%	10.91%	2.96%	0.84%
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 Tunbridge Wells changed since 2011?

Tunbridge Wells residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.27% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	51.42%	33.6%	11.12%	3.09%	0.78%
2021	52.76%	32.53%	10.91%	2.96%	0.84%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of The Down and Tunbridge Wells?

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

Ward	Population
Benenden and Cranbrook	7952
Brenchley and Horsmonden	5403
Broadwater	4769
Capel	2354
Culverden	9040
Frittenden and Sissinghurst	2270
Goudhurst and Lamberhurst	4980
Hawkhurst and Sandhurst	6507
Paddock Wood East	4065
Paddock Wood West	4108
Pantiles and St Mark's	6971
Park	7953
Pembury	6030
Rusthall	4996
Sherwood	8336
Southborough and High Brooms	8009
Southborough North	4296
Speldhurst and Bidborough	6217
St James'	7141
St John's	7542
Tunbridge Wells Total	118939

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