Socio-economic statistics for Chester, Cheshire

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

Chester Education Statistics

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

Level	Chester City & the Garden Quarter	England
No Qualifications	10.33%	18.08%
Level 1	5.16%	9.69%
Level 2	9.32%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	3.22%	5.32%
Level 3	26.94%	16.92%
Level 4	43.09%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Chester and Cheshire West and Chester

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Chester either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 37.61 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 62.39 of Chester residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Chester City & the Garden Quarter	37.61%	62.39%
Cheshire West and Chester	68.29%	31.71%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Chester compared to other wards in Cheshire West and Chester

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Strawberry	90.59%	9.41%
2	Ledsham & Manor	89.8%	10.2%
3	Whitby Groves	89%	11%
4	Sandstone	85.58%	14.42%
5	Parkgate	85.57%	14.43%
6	Little Neston	85.51%	14.49%
7	Willaston & Thornton	84.55%	15.45%
8	Whitby Park	81.12%	18.88%
9	Saughall & Mollington	80.88%	19.12%
10	Gowy Rural	80.73%	19.28%
11	Tarvin & Kelsall	80.37%	19.63%
12	Marbury	80%	20%
13	Christleton & Huntington	79.44%	20.56%
14	Tarporley	78.95%	21.05%
15	Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead	78.47%	21.53%
16	Hartford & Greenbank	77.77%	22.23%
17	Weaver & Cuddington	77.46%	22.54%
18	Great Boughton	77.04%	22.96%
19	Helsby	76.95%	23.05%
20	Frodsham	76.13%	23.87%
21	Shakerley	75.21%	24.79%
22	Winsford Gravel	74.74%	25.26%
23	Upton (Cheshire West and Chester)	74.42%	25.58%
24	Handbridge Park	73.88%	26.12%
25	Tattenhall	70.93%	29.07%
26	Northwich Winnington & Castle	70.38%	29.62%
27	Farndon	70.34%	29.66%
28	Malpas (Cheshire West and Chester)	69.18%	30.82%
29	Winsford Swanlow	68.38%	31.62%
30	Rudheath	67.79%	32.21%
31	Winsford Dene	67.63%	32.37%
32	Newton & Hoole	65.35%	34.65%
33	Netherpool	64.78%	35.22%
34	Sutton Villages	64.15%	35.85%
35	Neston	56.44%	43.56%
36	Northwich Leftwich	55.86%	44.14%
37	Winsford Over & Verdin	55.42%	44.58%
38	Winsford Wharton	55.24%	44.76%
39	Northwich Witton	53%	47%
40	Lache	52.18%	47.82%
41	Blacon	49.31%	50.69%
42	Central & Grange	44.42%	55.58%
43	Wolverham	40.59%	59.41%
44	Westminster	39.26%	60.74%
45	Chester City & the Garden Quarter	37.61%	62.39%

Chester is ranked 45 out of 45 wards in Cheshire West and Chester for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chester Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Chester City & the Garden Quarter.

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)

Chester Health Statistics

Chester City & the Garden Quarter 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
Chester City & the Garden Quarter	47.56%	35.84%	12.14%	3.39%	1.07%
Cheshire West and Chester	48.82%	33.27%	12.68%	4.06%	1.18%
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 Cheshire West and Chester changed since 2011?

Cheshire West and Chester residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.56% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	48.47%	33.06%	12.93%	4.33%	1.21%
2021	48.82%	33.27%	12.68%	4.06%	1.18%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chester & Cheshire West and Chester 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 Chester in the Cheshire West and Chester local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Chester City & the Garden Quarter	79.76%	20.24%
Cheshire West and Chester	92.66%	7.34%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chester compared to other wards in Cheshire West and Chester

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Chester City & the Garden Quarter	79.76%	20.24%
2	Northwich Witton	87.31%	12.69%
3	Lache	87.36%	12.64%
4	Handbridge Park	88.1%	11.9%
5	Winsford Wharton	88.88%	11.12%
6	Central & Grange	89.26%	10.74%
7	Newton & Hoole	89.33%	10.67%
8	Westminster	89.61%	10.39%
9	Wolverham	89.87%	10.13%
10	Upton	90.36%	9.64%
11	Great Boughton	90.6%	9.4%
12	Blacon	90.69%	9.31%
13	Christleton & Huntington	92.16%	7.84%
14	Northwich Leftwich	92.89%	7.11%
15	Northwich Winnington & Castle	93.18%	6.82%
16	Hartford & Greenbank	93.26%	6.74%
17	Rudheath	94.22%	5.78%
18	Whitby Park	94.35%	5.65%
19	Whitby Groves	94.4%	5.6%
20	Gowy Rural	94.45%	5.55%
21	Tattenhall	94.5%	5.5%
22	Shakerley	94.62%	5.38%
23	Neston	94.86%	5.14%
24	Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead	94.88%	5.12%
25	Winsford Over & Verdin	94.98%	5.02%
26	Sutton Villages	94.99%	5.01%
27	Winsford Gravel	95.26%	4.74%
28	Tarporley	95.33%	4.67%
29	Saughall & Mollington	95.34%	4.66%
30	Frodsham	95.41%	4.59%
31	Sandstone	95.41%	4.59%
32	Farndon	95.42%	4.58%
33	Winsford Dene	95.43%	4.57%
34	Helsby	95.47%	4.53%
35	Parkgate	95.61%	4.39%
36	Winsford Swanlow	95.61%	4.39%
37	Weaver & Cuddington	95.67%	4.33%
38	Willaston & Thornton	95.85%	4.15%
39	Tarvin & Kelsall	95.87%	4.13%
40	Ledsham & Manor	95.89%	4.11%
41	Netherpool	95.91%	4.09%
42	Strawberry	96.34%	3.66%
43	Malpas	96.34%	3.66%
44	Marbury	96.39%	3.61%
45	Little Neston	96.42%	3.58%

';Chester is ranked 1 out of 45 wards in Cheshire West and Chester for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Chester 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 Cheshire West and Chester.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Cheshire West and Chester	2.7%	-0.2%
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 Chester 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 Chester.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	47.84%
In Part-Time Work	22.84%
Unemployed	4.98%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

77.16% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Chester

What are the occupations of the residents of Chester?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	23.99%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.95%
Elementary Occupations	13.64%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	11.43%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.92%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.02%
Skilled Trades	6.19%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.61%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Chester and Cheshire West and Chester?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Cheshire West and Chester including Chester. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Blacon	13719
Central & Grange	11038
Chester City & the Garden Quarter	18164
Christleton & Huntington	11103
Davenham, Moulton & Kingsmead	10752
Farndon	4576
Frodsham	9231
Gowy Rural	9213
Great Boughton	10581
Handbridge Park	8639
Hartford & Greenbank	8509
Helsby	5046
Lache	5783
Ledsham & Manor	9111
Little Neston	4646
Malpas	4641
Marbury	12867
Neston	5714
Netherpool	5672
Newton & Hoole	14966
Northwich Leftwich	4472
Northwich Winnington & Castle	8731
Northwich Witton	5148
Parkgate	4867
Rudheath	5472
Sandstone	4890
Saughall & Mollington	5124
Shakerley	5004
Strawberry	5140
Sutton Villages	10935
Tarporley	4764
Tarvin & Kelsall	8942
Tattenhall	4785
Upton	9609
Weaver & Cuddington	14264
Westminster	4528
Whitby Groves	4165
Whitby Park	4989
Willaston & Thornton	4823
Winsford Dene	4394
Winsford Gravel	4097
Winsford Over & Verdin	14521
Winsford Swanlow	5014
Winsford Wharton	5603
Wolverham	5571
Cheshire West and Chester Total	343823

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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