Socio-economic statistics for Bestwood, Nottinghamshire

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

Bestwood Education Statistics

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

Level	Bestwood	England
No Qualifications	26.73%	18.08%
Level 1	12.79%	9.69%
Level 2	14.55%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.74%	5.32%
Level 3	14.7%	16.92%
Level 4	22.44%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Bestwood?

The largest employment sector in Bestwood is Elementary Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	17.84%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	15.31%
Professional Occupations	13.02%
Skilled Trades	9.78%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	9.48%
Associate Professional & Technical	8.92%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.08%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	6.97%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Bestwood Health Statistics

Bestwood has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Bestwood	43.42%	32.72%	15.62%	6.28%	1.97%
Nottingham	47.57%	33.46%	12.94%	4.57%	1.46%
East Midlands	46.25%	34.83%	13.58%	4.16%	1.19%
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 Nottingham changed since 2011?

Nottingham residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.09% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	46.14%	33.8%	13.6%	4.93%	1.53%
2021	47.57%	33.46%	12.94%	4.57%	1.46%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bestwood Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Bestwood 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 Nottingham.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Nottingham	5.7%	-0.3%
East Midlands	3.4%	-0.2%
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 Bestwood 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 Bestwood.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	53.19%
In Part-Time Work	27.01%
Unemployed	8.08%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

72.99% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Bestwood

Bestwood & Nottingham 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 Bestwood in the Nottingham local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Bestwood	81.18%	18.82%
Nottingham	75.44%	24.56%
East Midlands	86.28%	13.72%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bestwood compared to other wards in Nottingham

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Berridge	63.99%	36.01%
2	Hyson Green & Arboretum	64.14%	35.86%
3	Castle	64.41%	35.59%
4	Meadows	66.72%	33.28%
5	St. Ann's	67.3%	32.7%
6	Leen Valley	69.23%	30.77%
7	Radford	69.68%	30.32%
8	Dales	70.61%	29.39%
9	Mapperley	74.71%	25.29%
10	Aspley	75.34%	24.66%
11	Lenton & Wollaton East	75.93%	24.07%
12	Wollaton West	79.28%	20.72%
13	Basford	80.66%	19.34%
14	Sherwood	81.17%	18.83%
15	Bestwood	81.18%	18.82%
16	Bilborough	81.73%	18.27%
17	Bulwell	85.17%	14.83%
18	Clifton East	86.98%	13.02%
19	Bulwell Forest	87.03%	12.97%
20	Clifton West	88.31%	11.69%

';Bestwood is ranked 15 out of 20 wards in Nottingham for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Bestwood and Nottingham

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Bestwood either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 44.59 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 55.41 of Bestwood residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Bestwood	44.59%	55.41%
Nottingham	45.14%	54.86%
East Midlands	65.47%	34.53%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bestwood has a significantly lower level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically deprived area.

Bestwood compared to other wards in Nottingham

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Wollaton West	77.56%	22.44%
2	Leen Valley	69.17%	30.83%
3	Clifton West	68.07%	31.94%
4	Bulwell Forest	67.81%	32.19%
5	Sherwood (Nottingham)	57.61%	42.39%
6	Clifton East	51.66%	48.34%
7	Basford	50.37%	49.63%
8	Dales	48.22%	51.78%
9	Bilborough	47.52%	52.48%
10	Mapperley	47.45%	52.55%
11	Berridge	45.68%	54.32%
12	Bestwood	44.59%	55.41%
13	Bulwell	41.61%	58.39%
14	Aspley	38.37%	61.63%
15	Meadows	34.52%	65.48%
16	Lenton & Wollaton East	29.12%	70.88%
17	Castle (Nottingham)	28.52%	71.48%
18	St. Ann's (Nottingham)	27.5%	72.5%
19	Hyson Green & Arboretum	24.23%	75.77%
20	Radford (Nottingham)	12.8%	87.2%

Bestwood is ranked 12 out of 20 wards in Nottingham for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Bestwood and Nottingham?

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

Ward	Population
Aspley	19560
Basford	16780
Berridge	17436
Bestwood	16995
Bilborough	16737
Bulwell	16328
Bulwell Forest	13352
Castle	15429
Clifton East	16865
Clifton West	10744
Dales	17047
Hyson Green & Arboretum	26873
Leen Valley	9139
Lenton & Wollaton East	24076
Mapperley	16544
Meadows	10654
Radford	17414
Sherwood	16084
St. Ann's	23812
Wollaton West	15229
Nottingham Total	337098

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