Socio-economic statistics for Castleford, Wakefield

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

What are the occupations of the residents of Castleford?

The largest employment sector in Castleford is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Caring, leisure & Other Services.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	15.96%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.55%
Elementary Occupations	12.37%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.62%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.47%
Skilled Trades	10.42%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	9.33%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	9.1%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Castleford Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

How many residents own or rent their home in Castleford and Wakefield

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Castleford either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 66.55 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 33.45 of Castleford residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Altofts and Whitwood	66.55%	33.45%
Wakefield	62.6%	37.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber	62.58%	37.42%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Castleford has a higher level of home ownership than than the national average.

Castleford compared to other wards in Wakefield

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Wakefield Rural	77.04%	22.96%
2	Stanley and Outwood East	74.61%	25.39%
3	Wrenthorpe and Outwood West	74.49%	25.51%
4	Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton	71.97%	28.03%
5	Crofton, Ryhill and Walton	71.84%	28.16%
6	Horbury and South Ossett	68.67%	31.33%
7	Pontefract South	67.08%	32.92%
8	Altofts and Whitwood	66.55%	33.45%
9	Ossett	66.45%	33.55%
10	Castleford Central and Glasshoughton	66.16%	33.84%
11	Wakefield South	64.42%	35.58%
12	Pontefract North	62.96%	37.04%
13	Featherstone	60.14%	39.86%
14	Normanton (Wakefield)	59.14%	40.86%
15	Hemsworth	57.9%	42.1%
16	Knottingley	57.3%	42.7%
17	South Elmsall and South Kirkby	56.61%	43.39%
18	Airedale and Ferry Fryston	54.53%	45.47%
19	Wakefield West	48.77%	51.23%
20	Wakefield North	47.57%	52.43%
21	Wakefield East	38.57%	61.43%

Castleford is ranked 8 out of 21 wards in Wakefield for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Castleford Education Statistics

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

Level	Altofts and Whitwood	England
No Qualifications	22.81%	18.08%
Level 1	10.04%	9.69%
Level 2	15.69%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.64%	5.32%
Level 3	18.5%	16.92%
Level 4	23.84%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Castleford 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 Wakefield.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Wakefield	3.7%	-0.3%
Yorkshire and The Humber	4.2%	-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 Castleford 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 Castleford.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	60.46%
In Part-Time Work	22.62%
Unemployed	3.56%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

77.38% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Castleford

Castleford & Wakefield 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 Castleford in the Wakefield local area district.

Castleford has a lower rate of immigrants than Wakefield, the Yorkshire and The Humber region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Altofts and Whitwood	94.16%	5.84%
Wakefield	91.49%	8.51%
Yorkshire and The Humber	88.65%	11.35%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Castleford compared to other wards in Wakefield

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Wakefield East	69.94%	30.06%
2	Wakefield North	80.05%	19.95%
3	Wakefield South	83.79%	16.21%
4	Wakefield West	86.73%	13.27%
5	Normanton	88.97%	11.03%
6	South Elmsall and South Kirkby	91.79%	8.21%
7	Stanley and Outwood East	92.6%	7.4%
8	Castleford Central and Glasshoughton	93.25%	6.75%
9	Pontefract North	93.48%	6.52%
10	Airedale and Ferry Fryston	93.76%	6.24%
11	Wrenthorpe and Outwood West	93.89%	6.11%
12	Altofts and Whitwood	94.16%	5.84%
13	Featherstone	94.63%	5.37%
14	Knottingley	94.68%	5.32%
15	Hemsworth	95.06%	4.94%
16	Crofton, Ryhill and Walton	95.31%	4.69%
17	Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton	95.42%	4.58%
18	Wakefield Rural	95.86%	4.14%
19	Pontefract South	95.94%	4.06%
20	Ossett	96.21%	3.79%
21	Horbury and South Ossett	96.53%	3.47%

';Castleford is ranked 12 out of 21 wards in Wakefield for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Castleford Health Statistics

Altofts and Whitwood has a lower proportion of residents (very_good_pc-$ward_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Altofts and Whitwood	45.68%	34.11%	14.09%	4.75%	1.36%
Wakefield	44.71%	34.29%	14.46%	5.07%	1.48%
Yorkshire and The Humber	46.18%	34.31%	13.7%	4.49%	1.32%
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 Wakefield changed since 2011?

Wakefield residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 2.21% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	42.75%	34.04%	15.53%	5.99%	1.7%
2021	44.71%	34.29%	14.46%	5.07%	1.48%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Castleford and Wakefield?

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

Ward	Population
Ackworth, North Elmsall and Upton	17746
Airedale and Ferry Fryston	15892
Altofts and Whitwood	18398
Castleford Central and Glasshoughton	16843
Crofton, Ryhill and Walton	15875
Featherstone	17299
Hemsworth	15979
Horbury and South Ossett	15513
Knottingley	14363
Normanton	17334
Ossett	16678
Pontefract North	18035
Pontefract South	15238
South Elmsall and South Kirkby	19279
Stanley and Outwood East	16568
Wakefield East	17232
Wakefield North	17647
Wakefield Rural	17736
Wakefield South	14906
Wakefield West	16555
Wrenthorpe and Outwood West	16476
Wakefield Total	351592

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