Socio-economic statistics for Birtley, Gateshead

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

Birtley Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Birtley 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 Gateshead.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Gateshead	4.6%	-0.5%
North East	4.3%	-0.5%
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 Birtley 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 Birtley.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	50.58%
In Part-Time Work	25.99%
Unemployed	5.12%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.01% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Birtley

Birtley Health Statistics

Birtley 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
Birtley	40.39%	35.34%	16.29%	6.37%	1.61%
Gateshead	43.75%	33.53%	15.35%	5.67%	1.7%
North East	44.58%	33.46%	14.95%	5.41%	1.61%
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 many residents own or rent their home in Birtley and Gateshead

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Birtley either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 60.72 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 39.28 of Birtley residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Birtley	60.72%	39.28%
Gateshead	57.99%	42.01%
North East	60.27%	39.73%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Birtley compared to other wards in Gateshead

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Whickham South and Sunniside	81.34%	18.66%
2	Low Fell	79.2%	20.8%
3	Dunston Hill and Whickham East	78.16%	21.84%
4	Crawcrook and Greenside	76%	24%
5	Winlaton and High Spen	72.71%	27.29%
6	Ryton, Crookhill and Stella	70.5%	29.5%
7	Wardley and Leam Lane	64.56%	35.44%
8	Whickham North	64.22%	35.78%
9	Chopwell and Rowlands Gill	61.66%	38.34%
10	Birtley	60.72%	39.28%
11	Lamesley	60.44%	39.56%
12	Pelaw and Heworth	59.81%	40.19%
13	Chowdene	58.99%	41.01%
14	Blaydon	55.47%	44.53%
15	Windy Nook and Whitehills	51.53%	48.47%
16	Lobley Hill and Bensham	49.26%	50.74%
17	Saltwell	45.95%	54.05%
18	High Fell	42.57%	57.43%
19	Dunston and Teams	42.22%	57.78%
20	Deckham	41.51%	58.49%
21	Bridges	35.39%	64.61%
22	Felling	33.96%	66.04%

Birtley is ranked 10 out of 22 wards in Gateshead for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birtley Education Statistics

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

Level	Birtley	England
No Qualifications	24.12%	18.08%
Level 1	10.51%	9.69%
Level 2	14.81%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.95%	5.32%
Level 3	16.74%	16.92%
Level 4	22.63%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Birtley?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	14.83%
Associate Professional & Technical	11.83%
Elementary Occupations	11.69%
Skilled Trades	11.13%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.57%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	9.98%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	9.96%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	9.39%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Birtley & Gateshead 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 Birtley in the Gateshead local area district.

Birtley has a lower rate of immigrants than Gateshead, the North East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Birtley	94.48%	5.52%
Gateshead	92.57%	7.43%
North East	93.23%	6.77%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Birtley compared to other wards in Gateshead

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Bridges	77.61%	22.39%
2	Saltwell	81.08%	18.92%
3	Lobley Hill and Bensham	86.56%	13.44%
4	Dunston and Teams	86.71%	13.29%
5	Felling	87.57%	12.43%
6	Deckham	88.74%	11.26%
7	High Fell	90.84%	9.16%
8	Birtley	94.48%	5.52%
9	Lamesley	94.64%	5.36%
10	Pelaw and Heworth	95.07%	4.93%
11	Low Fell	95.32%	4.68%
12	Chowdene	95.64%	4.36%
13	Whickham North	95.77%	4.23%
14	Windy Nook and Whitehills	95.97%	4.03%
15	Chopwell and Rowlands Gill	96.04%	3.96%
16	Wardley and Leam Lane	96.19%	3.81%
17	Dunston Hill and Whickham East	96.36%	3.64%
18	Ryton, Crookhill and Stella	96.44%	3.56%
19	Blaydon	96.64%	3.36%
20	Whickham South and Sunniside	97.27%	2.73%
21	Winlaton and High Spen	97.34%	2.66%
22	Crawcrook and Greenside	97.5%	2.5%

';Birtley is ranked 8 out of 22 wards in Gateshead for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Birtley and Gateshead?

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

Ward	Population
Gateshead Total	0

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