Is Wem, Shropshire a nice place to live?

Is Wem a nice place to live or is Wem a bit rough? For us there are a number of factors that make any town a nice place to live, like a low crime rate, low levels of deprivation, the good health of the residents, rent affordability and excellent wages. In this article we will see if Wem meets our criteria.

How likely are you to a victim of crime in Wem?

The English Indices of Deprivation has a crime element for Wem. They are a measure of how likely you are to be a victim of personal or material crime in an area, such as muggings or burglary. Naturally rural areas have less crime than urban areas, but for this part of our town assessment we've looked at the 10 wards nearest to the centre of Wem. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5

#WardCrime Rank
1Shawbury28514
2Ellesmere Urban27216
3Hodnet27024
4Edgmond & Ercall Magna26971
5Prees22700
6Wem21003
7Whitchurch South19728
8Whitchurch North17633
9Battlefield14509
10Harlescott13185
crime
PASSED

Reader Opinion:

Whitchurch (Wem): The abyss of Shropshire

Is Wem a healthy place to live?

If you are thinking of moving to Wem, you want to know if the place is likely to put you on a downward spiral of ill health. For this section of the town assessment, we've examined government health statistics from the 2021 Census General Health question and the Indices of Multiple Deprivation's health element.The table below shows what percentage of Wem residents answered saying their health was either bad or very bad. To pass this section, the local authority has to have a percentage score less than or equal to 7%.

Local Authority%
Cheshire East4.7
Shropshire (Wem)5.08
Telford and Wrekin6.12
Wrexham6.22

The English Indices of Deprivation also has health statistics for Wem. They measures the risk of premature death and the impairment of quality of life through poor physical or mental health, lovely! We've collated an average LSOA rank for 10 wards nearest to the centre of Wem. To pass this section, 8 out of 10 of these wards need to be above the English national average rank of 16422.5.

#WardHealth Rank
1Ellesmere Urban (Best)24034
2Prees22771
3Shawbury22160
4Hodnet20744
5Wem19218
6Edgmond & Ercall Magna19110
7Battlefield19020
8Whitchurch North17872
9Whitchurch South17254
10Harlescott (Worst)14678
health
PASSED
Reader Opinion:

Wellington, Telford: A depressive hole of wasters

Is Wem rough?

Using the English Indices of Deprivation statistics, we've collated the average rank for 10 wards in and around Wem. In layman's terms, this is how rough the ward is based on mutiple measures of deprivation including; employment, income, health, crime, housing and outside space. To pass this section as the town assessment, 8 out of 10 wards must have a ranking higher than the English average of 16422.5

#WardDeprivation Rank
1Shawbury22534
2Edgmond & Ercall Magna22212
3Battlefield18794
4Ellesmere Urban17821
5Wem16947
6Whitchurch North15381
7Hodnet14802
8Whitchurch South13928
9Harlescott13543
10Prees12550
Deprivation
FAILED



How affordable are the rents in Wem?

Every six months the Office for National statitics publishes a snapshot of rental costs. These market rental statistics are dated September 2023. We have used the median rental figure for this assessment as we believe this is a more realistic figure than the average (mean) that can be skewed by artificially low and high rents. To pass this section, Wem rents for each size property have to be less than 5% more than the median rent for .

BedsShropshire
1£475£
2£595£
3£725£
4£1075£
Affordable Rents
FAILED



How much can I earn in Wem per week?

If you are thinking of moving to Wem, you'll want to know how much you can earn in a job in the town. Every year the government publishes statistics on gross weekly pay, these figures are for September 2023. To pass this section Wem's local authority needs to be in first or second place compared to the three nearest local authorities.

#Local AuthorityMedian Pw
1Cheshire East UA£670.50
2Shropshire UA (Wem)£660.20
3Telford and Wrekin UA£658.70
4Wrexham / Wrecsam£634.90
Wages
PASSED



So, is Wem a nice place to live?

Wem has passed our core town assesment with a score of 3/5.  However, Wem does more pockets of deprivation than the average town.  However, the rents in Wem are more expensive than other parts of .

Is Wem a nice place to live?
YES
* Probably.