Socio-economic statistics for Blackburn, Lancashire

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

How many residents own or rent their home in Blackburn and Blackburn with Darwen

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Blackburn either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 27.38 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 72.62 of Blackburn residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Blackburn Central	27.38%	72.62%
Blackburn with Darwen	60.46%	39.54%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Blackburn compared to other wards in Blackburn with Darwen

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Livesey with Pleasington	87.04%	12.96%
2	West Pennine	83.93%	16.07%
3	Billinge & Beardwood	83.51%	16.49%
4	Blackburn South & Lower Darwen	80.8%	19.2%
5	Roe Lee	73.58%	26.42%
6	Shear Brow & Corporation Park	71.49%	28.51%
7	Darwen South	71.1%	28.9%
8	Darwen West	67.89%	32.11%
9	Little Harwood & Whitebirk	54.91%	45.09%
10	Bastwell & Daisyfield	53.46%	46.54%
11	Ewood	52.58%	47.42%
12	Mill Hill & Moorgate	51.37%	48.63%
13	Audley & Queen's Park	50.75%	49.25%
14	Wensley Fold	49.47%	50.53%
15	Darwen East	45.08%	54.92%
16	Blackburn South East	40.29%	59.71%
17	Blackburn Central	27.38%	72.62%

Blackburn is ranked 17 out of 17 wards in Blackburn with Darwen for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blackburn 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 Blackburn with Darwen.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Blackburn with Darwen	5.5%	-0.1%
North West	4.3%	-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 Blackburn 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 Blackburn.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	40.68%
In Part-Time Work	31.02%
Unemployed	10.85%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

68.98% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Blackburn

Blackburn Education Statistics

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

Level	Blackburn Central	England
No Qualifications	34.34%	18.08%
Level 1	11.74%	9.69%
Level 2	13.64%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.25%	5.32%
Level 3	12.57%	16.92%
Level 4	19.7%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blackburn Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Blackburn Health Statistics

Blackburn Central 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
Blackburn Central	42.77%	31.88%	14.68%	8.1%	2.58%
Blackburn with Darwen	47.79%	32.32%	13.25%	5.06%	1.58%
North West	47.73%	32.71%	13.36%	4.77%	1.43%
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 Blackburn with Darwen changed since 2011?

Blackburn with Darwen residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.46% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	45.42%	33.23%	14.05%	5.71%	1.58%
2021	47.79%	32.32%	13.25%	5.06%	1.58%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blackburn & Blackburn with Darwen 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 Blackburn in the Blackburn with Darwen local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Blackburn Central	69.32%	30.68%
Blackburn with Darwen	81.91%	18.09%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Blackburn compared to other wards in Blackburn with Darwen

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Bastwell & Daisyfield	63.61%	36.39%
2	Audley & Queen's Park	66.62%	33.38%
3	Wensley Fold	67.46%	32.54%
4	Shear Brow & Corporation Park	67.61%	32.39%
5	Blackburn Central	69.32%	30.68%
6	Little Harwood & Whitebirk	70.64%	29.36%
7	Billinge & Beardwood	78.5%	21.5%
8	Roe Lee	84.21%	15.79%
9	Blackburn South East	84.42%	15.58%
10	Ewood	88.93%	11.07%
11	Darwen East	90.22%	9.78%
12	Mill Hill & Moorgate	92.39%	7.61%
13	Blackburn South & Lower Darwen	95.15%	4.85%
14	Darwen West	95.42%	4.58%
15	Darwen South	96.17%	3.83%
16	West Pennine	96.79%	3.21%
17	Livesey with Pleasington	96.9%	3.1%

';Blackburn is ranked 5 out of 17 wards in Blackburn with Darwen for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Blackburn?

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

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	18.25%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	15.55%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	13.66%
Professional Occupations	11.3%
Skilled Trades	9.27%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.21%
Associate Professional & Technical	7.54%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	4.69%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Blackburn and Blackburn with Darwen?

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

Ward	Population
Audley & Queen's Park	10806
Bastwell & Daisyfield	8607
Billinge & Beardwood	8964
Blackburn Central	9248
Blackburn South & Lower Darwen	7814
Blackburn South East	9970
Darwen East	9483
Darwen South	7720
Darwen West	8374
Ewood	9856
Little Harwood & Whitebirk	8848
Livesey with Pleasington	7551
Mill Hill & Moorgate	8153
Roe Lee	8918
Shear Brow & Corporation Park	8942
Wensley Fold	9209
West Pennine	7567
Blackburn with Darwen Total	150030

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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