Socio-economic statistics for Bicester, Oxfordshire

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

Bicester & Cherwell 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 Bicester in the Cherwell local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Bicester South and Ambrosden	77.44%	22.56%
Cherwell	82.4%	17.6%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bicester compared to other wards in Cherwell

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown	68.73%	31.27%
2	Banbury Cross and Neithrop	71.56%	28.44%
3	Bicester South and Ambrosden	77.44%	22.56%
4	Kidlington East	78.57%	21.43%
5	Bicester East	79.42%	20.58%
6	Bicester North and Caversfield	79.52%	20.48%
7	Banbury Ruscote	79.81%	20.19%
8	Kidlington West	82.04%	17.96%
9	Banbury Hardwick	82.36%	17.64%
10	Bicester West	83.6%	16.4%
11	Banbury Calthorpe and Easington	86.13%	13.87%
12	Fringford and Heyfords	88.74%	11.26%
13	Launton and Otmoor	90.08%	9.92%
14	Deddington	91.74%	8.26%
15	Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote	91.83%	8.17%
16	Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton	92.03%	7.97%

';Bicester is ranked 3 out of 16 wards in Cherwell for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bicester Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Bicester?

The largest employment sector in Bicester is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	22.92%
Associate Professional & Technical	16.6%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	14.33%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.28%
Skilled Trades	8.34%
Elementary Occupations	7.09%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.68%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	5.44%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Bicester Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Bicester South and Ambrosden	57.62%	32.35%	7.78%	1.72%	0.52%
Cherwell	50.78%	34.34%	11.16%	2.92%	0.8%
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 Cherwell changed since 2011?

Cherwell residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.14% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	50.33%	34.65%	11.17%	3%	0.84%
2021	50.78%	34.34%	11.16%	2.92%	0.8%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bicester 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 Cherwell.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Cherwell	2.2%	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 Bicester 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 Bicester.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	75.11%
In Part-Time Work	20.86%
Unemployed	2.9%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

79.14% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Bicester

Bicester Education Statistics

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

Level	Bicester South and Ambrosden	England
No Qualifications	9.44%	18.08%
Level 1	9.12%	9.69%
Level 2	13.23%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.7%	5.32%
Level 3	17.84%	16.92%
Level 4	43.51%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Bicester and Cherwell

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Bicester either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 58.27 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 41.73 of Bicester residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Bicester South and Ambrosden	58.27%	41.73%
Cherwell	65.01%	34.99%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Bicester has a lower level of home ownership than than the national average.

Bicester compared to other wards in Cherwell

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton	78.68%	21.32%
2	Launton and Otmoor	76.46%	23.54%
3	Deddington	76.29%	23.71%
4	Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote	76.11%	23.89%
5	Banbury Calthorpe and Easington	75.09%	24.91%
6	Bicester West	72.52%	27.48%
7	Kidlington West	70.7%	29.3%
8	Kidlington East	68.4%	31.6%
9	Fringford and Heyfords	67.99%	32.01%
10	Bicester North and Caversfield	65.13%	34.87%
11	Bicester East	64.24%	35.76%
12	Banbury Hardwick	61.04%	38.96%
13	Bicester South and Ambrosden	58.27%	41.73%
14	Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown	48.09%	51.91%
15	Banbury Ruscote	47.84%	52.16%
16	Banbury Cross and Neithrop	45.19%	54.81%

Bicester is ranked 13 out of 16 wards in Cherwell for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Bicester and Cherwell?

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

Ward	Population
Adderbury, Bloxham and Bodicote	11073
Banbury Calthorpe and Easington	8885
Banbury Cross and Neithrop	10694
Banbury Grimsbury and Hightown	9929
Banbury Hardwick	8205
Banbury Ruscote	10388
Bicester East	8436
Bicester North and Caversfield	8904
Bicester South and Ambrosden	10029
Bicester West	8713
Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton	8606
Deddington	9034
Fringford and Heyfords	11369
Kidlington East	9739
Kidlington West	9108
Launton and Otmoor	8734
Cherwell Total	151846

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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