Socio-economic statistics for Chatham, Kent

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

Chatham & Medway 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 Chatham in the Medway local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Luton and Wayfield	80.84%	19.16%
Medway	86.18%	13.82%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chatham compared to other wards in Medway

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Chatham Central	74.24%	25.76%
2	Gillingham South	74.37%	25.63%
3	River	75.22%	24.78%
4	Gillingham North	79.27%	20.73%
5	Luton and Wayfield	80.84%	19.16%
6	Rochester East	84.37%	15.63%
7	Rochester South and Horsted	85.35%	14.65%
8	Strood North	86.11%	13.89%
9	Watling	86.24%	13.76%
10	Strood South	86.8%	13.2%
11	Rochester West	87.2%	12.8%
12	Princes Park	90.31%	9.69%
13	Hempstead and Wigmore	90.67%	9.33%
14	Walderslade	91.59%	8.41%
15	Twydall	91.81%	8.19%
16	Rainham North	92.43%	7.57%
17	Strood Rural	92.49%	7.51%
18	Lordswood and Capstone	92.85%	7.15%
19	Rainham Central	92.91%	7.09%
20	Rainham South	92.96%	7.04%
21	Peninsula	93.28%	6.72%
22	Cuxton and Halling	93.69%	6.31%

';Chatham is ranked 5 out of 22 wards in Medway for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chatham Education Statistics

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

Level	Luton and Wayfield	England
No Qualifications	24.37%	18.08%
Level 1	13.12%	9.69%
Level 2	15.94%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.95%	5.32%
Level 3	15.43%	16.92%
Level 4	21.81%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Chatham and Medway

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Chatham either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 50.57 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 49.43 of Chatham residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Luton and Wayfield	50.57%	49.43%
Medway	64.71%	35.29%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Chatham compared to other wards in Medway

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Hempstead and Wigmore	89.06%	10.94%
2	Rainham Central	84.81%	15.19%
3	Cuxton and Halling	81.53%	18.47%
4	Rochester South and Horsted	77.81%	22.19%
5	Peninsula	77.12%	22.88%
6	Watling (Medway)	77.05%	22.95%
7	Rainham South	76.48%	23.52%
8	Strood Rural	75.92%	24.08%
9	Lordswood and Capstone	73.96%	26.04%
10	Rainham North	72.59%	27.41%
11	Walderslade	72.01%	27.99%
12	Princes Park (Medway)	69.67%	30.33%
13	Strood North	68.54%	31.46%
14	Twydall	65.36%	34.64%
15	Strood South	62.23%	37.77%
16	Rochester West	57.43%	42.57%
17	Rochester East	54.95%	45.05%
18	Gillingham South	50.85%	49.15%
19	Luton and Wayfield	50.57%	49.43%
20	Chatham Central	44.95%	55.05%
21	Gillingham North	43.06%	56.94%
22	River (Medway)	40.79%	59.21%

Chatham is ranked 19 out of 22 wards in Medway for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chatham Health Statistics

Luton and Wayfield 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
Luton and Wayfield	45.99%	33.2%	14.2%	4.99%	1.61%
Medway	47.48%	34.58%	12.83%	3.99%	1.11%
South East	49.98%	34.01%	11.77%	3.31%	0.93%
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 Medway changed since 2011?

Medway residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.09% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	45.72%	36.25%	13%	3.94%	1.09%
2021	47.48%	34.58%	12.83%	3.99%	1.11%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chatham 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 Medway.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Medway	3.8%	-0.7%
South East	2.9%	-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 Chatham 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 Chatham.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	55.76%
In Part-Time Work	26.18%
Unemployed	7.05%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

73.82% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Chatham

Chatham Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Chatham?

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

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	16.04%
Skilled Trades	12.7%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	12.6%
Professional Occupations	12.55%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	10.78%
Associate Professional & Technical	10.49%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.77%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	7.73%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Chatham and Medway?

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

Ward	Population
Chatham Central	17547
Cuxton and Halling	6683
Gillingham North	19872
Gillingham South	17932
Hempstead and Wigmore	7767
Lordswood and Capstone	9025
Luton and Wayfield	15402
Peninsula	14712
Princes Park	10225
Rainham Central	12088
Rainham North	8766
Rainham South	13388
River	12100
Rochester East	10670
Rochester South and Horsted	13752
Rochester West	10912
Strood North	14393
Strood Rural	15200
Strood South	16495
Twydall	13348
Walderslade	9421
Watling	9444
Medway Total	279142

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