Socio-economic statistics for Byker, Newcastle Upon Tyne

Socio-economic statistics for Byker, Newcastle Upon Tyne

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

Byker Age Distribution Statistics

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

How many residents own or rent their home in Byker and Newcastle upon Tyne

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Byker either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 21.95 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 78.05 of Byker residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.
AreaOwnedRented
Byker21.95%78.05%
Newcastle upon Tyne49.25%50.75%
North East60.27%39.73%
England61.31%38.69%

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

Byker compared to other wards in Newcastle upon Tyne

#WardOwnedRented
1Chapel88.94%11.06%
2Gosforth (Newcastle upon Tyne)77.01%22.99%
3Castle (Newcastle upon Tyne)74.55%25.45%
4Parklands74.53%25.47%
5Dene & South Gosforth74.36%25.64%
6Manor Park (Newcastle upon Tyne)70.98%29.02%
7Lemington61.76%38.24%
8Callerton & Throckley59.84%40.16%
9Fawdon & West Gosforth57.69%42.31%
10Walkergate55.96%44.04%
11Denton & Westerhope55.61%44.39%
12West Fenham54.68%45.32%
13Wingrove50.23%49.77%
14Benwell & Scotswood50.12%49.88%
15Kingston Park South & Newbiggin Hall49.7%50.3%
16Kenton (Newcastle upon Tyne)47.07%52.93%
17Heaton (Newcastle upon Tyne)45.21%54.79%
18Blakelaw38.95%61.05%
19North Jesmond37.1%62.9%
20South Jesmond31.12%68.88%
21Walker25.31%74.69%
22Ouseburn (Newcastle upon Tyne)24.63%75.37%
23Byker21.95%78.05%
24Elswick18.33%81.67%
25Monument17.53%82.47%
26Arthur's Hill15.59%84.41%
Byker is ranked 23 out of 26 wards in Newcastle upon Tyne for the percentage of home owners.

Byker Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Byker 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 Byker to the national average for England.
LevelBykerEngland
No Qualifications27.13%18.08%
Level 110.49%9.69%
Level 211.96%13.32%
Apprenticeship6.26%5.32%
Level 313.56%16.92%
Level 427.92%33.92%

What are the occupations of the residents of Byker?

The largest employment sector in Byker is Elementary Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.
SectorProportion
Elementary Occupations19.57%
Professional Occupations16.72%
Caring, leisure & Other Services11.46%
Associate Professional & Technical10.79%
Skilled Trades8.69%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives8.05%
Administrative & Secretarial7.84%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials6.34%

Byker 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 Newcastle upon Tyne.
AreaUnemployedYearly Change
Newcastle upon Tyne4.7%-0.5%
North East4.3%-0.5%
England3.8%-0.3%
UK3.7%-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 Byker 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 Byker.
Economic StatusProportion
In Employment45.33%
In Part-Time Work29.44%
Unemployed10.13%
70.56% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Byker

Byker & Newcastle upon Tyne 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 Byker in the Newcastle upon Tyne local area district.

AreaBorn in UKBorn outside UK
Byker77.86%22.14%
Newcastle upon Tyne82.56%17.44%
North East93.23%6.77%
England82.65%17.35%

Byker compared to other wards in Newcastle upon Tyne

#WardBorn in UKBorn outside UK
1Elswick56.54%43.46%
2Monument60.63%39.37%
3Arthur's Hill60.89%39.11%
4Wingrove67.63%32.37%
5Byker77.86%22.14%
6Ouseburn78.18%21.82%
7Blakelaw81.98%18.02%
8Benwell & Scotswood83.29%16.71%
9West Fenham84.11%15.89%
10Heaton84.23%15.77%
11Dene & South Gosforth84.99%15.01%
12Manor Park85.67%14.33%
13Kenton85.7%14.3%
14South Jesmond85.93%14.07%
15Fawdon & West Gosforth87.21%12.79%
16Parklands87.47%12.53%
17Gosforth87.69%12.31%
18Walker87.74%12.26%
19Castle89.23%10.77%
20North Jesmond89.57%10.43%
21Kingston Park South & Newbiggin Hall91.35%8.65%
22Walkergate92.02%7.98%
23Denton & Westerhope93.63%6.37%
24Callerton & Throckley94.27%5.73%
25Lemington95.9%4.11%
26Chapel97.31%2.69%
';Byker is ranked 5 out of 26 wards in Newcastle upon Tyne for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Byker Health Statistics

Byker has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.
AreaVGGFBVB
Byker41.96%30.66%17.19%7.79%2.39%
Newcastle upon Tyne48.39%32.19%13.1%4.84%1.49%
North East44.58%33.46%14.95%5.41%1.61%
England48.49%33.71%12.65%3.98%1.17%
VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

How has the health of residents in Newcastle upon Tyne changed since 2011?

Newcastle upon Tyne residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.98% between the 2011 and 2021 census.
YearVGGFBVB
201147.8%31.8%13.57%5.28%1.55%
202148.39%32.19%13.1%4.84%1.49%
VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

What is the population of Byker and Newcastle upon Tyne?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Newcastle upon Tyne including Byker. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

WardPopulation
Arthur's Hill15639
Benwell & Scotswood12503
Blakelaw10809
Byker11767
Callerton & Throckley9976
Castle12441
Chapel8877
Dene & South Gosforth9879
Denton & Westerhope12574
Elswick16252
Fawdon & West Gosforth10167
Gosforth10665
Heaton11415
Kenton10878
Kingston Park South & Newbiggin Hall10640
Lemington9965
Manor Park9344
Monument18192
North Jesmond10448
Ouseburn13964
Parklands11259
South Jesmond11175
Walker11866
Walkergate11699
West Fenham11013
Wingrove13417
Newcastle upon Tyne Total306824



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