Socio-economic statistics for Birch Vale, Derbyshire

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

Birch Vale 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 High Peak.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
High Peak	2.6%	0%
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 Birch Vale 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 Birch Vale.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	54.99%
In Part-Time Work	28.25%
Unemployed	3.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

71.75% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Birch Vale

How many residents own or rent their home in Birch Vale and High Peak

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Birch Vale either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 85.13 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 14.87 of Birch Vale residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Sett	85.13%	14.87%
High Peak	70.95%	29.05%
East Midlands	65.47%	34.53%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Birch Vale compared to other wards in High Peak

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Simmondley	90.46%	9.54%
2	Dinting	87.78%	12.22%
3	Temple	87.41%	12.59%
4	Sett	85.13%	14.87%
5	Burbage	83.26%	16.74%
6	St John's (High Peak)	81.47%	18.53%
7	Old Glossop	80.67%	19.33%
8	Blackbrook (High Peak)	80.29%	19.71%
9	Hadfield South	77.98%	22.02%
10	Whaley Bridge	76.32%	23.68%
11	Hayfield	76.13%	23.87%
12	Chapel West	75.79%	24.21%
13	Limestone Peak	75.08%	24.92%
14	Hope Valley	74.26%	25.74%
15	New Mills West	73.9%	26.1%
16	Corbar	73.71%	26.29%
17	Cote Heath	73.33%	26.67%
18	Chapel East	71.94%	28.06%
19	Tintwistle	71.81%	28.19%
20	Padfield	68.83%	31.17%
21	New Mills East	62.44%	37.56%
22	Barms	59.36%	40.64%
23	Howard Town	58.37%	41.63%
24	Hadfield North	57.86%	42.14%
25	Stone Bench	55.27%	44.73%
26	Whitfield (High Peak)	51.25%	48.75%
27	Buxton Central	50.79%	49.21%
28	Gamesley	32.84%	67.16%

Birch Vale is ranked 4 out of 28 wards in High Peak for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birch Vale Education Statistics

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

Level	Sett	England
No Qualifications	10.73%	18.08%
Level 1	5.74%	9.69%
Level 2	12.34%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.03%	5.32%
Level 3	16.1%	16.92%
Level 4	46.14%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birch Vale Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Birch Vale?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	25.55%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	14.91%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.82%
Skilled Trades	12.72%
Administrative & Secretarial	8%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	8%
Elementary Occupations	7.46%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.5%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Birch Vale Health Statistics

Sett 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
Sett	50.27%	33.35%	11.92%	3.54%	0.91%
High Peak	47.62%	34.18%	13.2%	3.89%	1.11%
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 High Peak changed since 2011?

High Peak residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.21% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.51%	34.08%	13.21%	4.07%	1.12%
2021	47.62%	34.18%	13.2%	3.89%	1.11%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birch Vale & High Peak 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 Birch Vale in the High Peak local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Sett	95.6%	4.4%
High Peak	95.84%	4.16%
East Midlands	86.28%	13.72%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birch Vale compared to other wards in High Peak

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Buxton Central	90.53%	9.47%
2	Howard Town	94.77%	5.23%
3	New Mills West	94.94%	5.06%
4	Stone Bench	95.06%	4.94%
5	Corbar	95.14%	4.86%
6	Temple	95.37%	4.63%
7	Padfield	95.59%	4.41%
8	Sett	95.6%	4.4%
9	New Mills East	95.73%	4.27%
10	Hope Valley	95.84%	4.16%
11	Chapel West	95.91%	4.09%
12	St John's	96.04%	3.96%
13	Dinting	96.06%	3.94%
14	Whitfield	96.09%	3.91%
15	Chapel East	96.19%	3.81%
16	Hadfield North	96.2%	3.8%
17	Barms	96.24%	3.76%
18	Burbage	96.24%	3.76%
19	Tintwistle	96.26%	3.74%
20	Simmondley	96.42%	3.58%
21	Old Glossop	96.46%	3.54%
22	Hayfield	96.49%	3.51%
23	Whaley Bridge	96.52%	3.48%
24	Blackbrook	96.56%	3.44%
25	Cote Heath	96.83%	3.17%
26	Hadfield South	97.12%	2.88%
27	Gamesley	97.22%	2.78%
28	Limestone Peak	97.77%	2.23%

';Birch Vale is ranked 8 out of 28 wards in High Peak for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Birch Vale and High Peak?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in High Peak including Birch Vale. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Barms	1994
Blackbrook	4226
Burbage	2116
Buxton Central	4036
Chapel East	2158
Chapel West	5036
Corbar	3611
Cote Heath	4114
Dinting	2186
Gamesley	2507
Hadfield North	2487
Hadfield South	4162
Hayfield	1973
Hope Valley	3671
Howard Town	4614
Limestone Peak	2155
New Mills East	3954
New Mills West	4327
Old Glossop	4705
Padfield	2417
Sett	2027
Simmondley	4302
St John's	1749
Stone Bench	4633
Temple	2430
Tintwistle	2061
Whaley Bridge	6568
Whitfield	2414
High Peak Total	92633

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