Socio-economic statistics for Cole, Wiltshire

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

Cole Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Cole Education Statistics

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

Level	Ridgeway	England
No Qualifications	10.36%	18.08%
Level 1	7.78%	9.69%
Level 2	14.51%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5%	5.32%
Level 3	16.06%	16.92%
Level 4	44.66%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Cole and Swindon

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Cole either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 82.99 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 17.01 of Cole residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Ridgeway (Swindon)	82.99%	17.01%
Swindon	63.68%	36.32%
South West	65.88%	34.12%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Cole has a significantly higher level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically wealthy area.

Cole compared to other wards in Swindon

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Ridgeway (Swindon)	82.99%	17.01%
2	Chiseldon and Lawn	81.25%	18.75%
3	Covingham and Dorcan	77.92%	22.08%
4	St Margaret and South Marston	77.57%	22.43%
5	Wroughton and Wichelstowe	75.47%	24.53%
6	Haydon Wick	74.95%	25.05%
7	Blunsdon and Highworth	73.11%	26.89%
8	Shaw (Swindon)	71.76%	28.24%
9	St Andrews (Swindon)	69.07%	30.93%
10	Priory Vale	68.08%	31.92%
11	Rodbourne Cheney	65.68%	34.32%
12	Lydiard and Freshbrook	65.43%	34.57%
13	Old Town (Swindon)	63.74%	36.26%
14	Liden, Eldene and Park South	59.44%	40.56%
15	Gorse Hill and Pinehurst	58.91%	41.09%
16	Mannington and Western	53.4%	46.6%
17	Eastcott	48.83%	51.17%
18	Penhill and Upper Stratton	48.75%	51.25%
19	Walcot and Park North	45.55%	54.45%
20	Central (Swindon)	41.27%	58.73%

Cole is ranked 1 out of 20 wards in Swindon for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Cole 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 Swindon.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Swindon	3%	-0.6%
South West	2.5%	-0.4%
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 Cole 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 Cole.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	61.86%
In Part-Time Work	28.1%
Unemployed	2.34%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

71.9% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Cole

Cole & Swindon 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 Cole in the Swindon local area district.

Cole has a lower rate of immigrants than Swindon, the South West region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Ridgeway (Swindon)	91.85%	8.15%
Swindon	79.58%	20.42%
South West	89.8%	10.2%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Cole compared to other wards in Swindon

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Central	43.32%	56.68%
2	Eastcott	59.4%	40.6%
3	Mannington and Western	71.88%	28.12%
4	Gorse Hill and Pinehurst	73.68%	26.32%
5	Walcot and Park North	76.08%	23.92%
6	Liden, Eldene and Park South	79.38%	20.62%
7	St Andrews	81.53%	18.47%
8	Old Town	81.6%	18.41%
9	Lydiard and Freshbrook	81.99%	18.01%
10	Rodbourne Cheney	83.08%	16.92%
11	Priory Vale	84.09%	15.91%
12	Shaw	84.74%	15.26%
13	Chiseldon and Lawn	84.89%	15.11%
14	Haydon Wick	87.95%	12.05%
15	Covingham and Dorcan	88.21%	11.79%
16	St Margaret and South Marston	89.11%	10.89%
17	Penhill and Upper Stratton	90.19%	9.81%
18	Ridgeway	91.85%	8.15%
19	Wroughton and Wichelstowe	92.37%	7.63%
20	Blunsdon and Highworth	92.66%	7.34%

';Cole is ranked 18 out of 20 wards in Swindon for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Cole?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	26.51%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	23.15%
Associate Professional & Technical	14.49%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.89%
Skilled Trades	8.56%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	5.76%
Elementary Occupations	5.54%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	2.35%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Cole Health Statistics

Ridgeway has significantly more residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Ridgeway (Swindon)	56.4%	31.49%	9.12%	2.25%	0.73%
Swindon	48.08%	35.2%	12.28%	3.51%	0.94%
South West	47.6%	34.21%	13.12%	3.95%	1.12%
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 Swindon changed since 2011?

Swindon residents who describe their health as either good or very good has decreased by 0.16% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	48.26%	35.18%	11.98%	3.61%	0.97%
2021	48.08%	35.2%	12.28%	3.51%	0.94%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Cole and Swindon?

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

Ward	Population
Blunsdon and Highworth	14204
Central	14649
Chiseldon and Lawn	7587
Covingham and Dorcan	10261
Eastcott	12660
Gorse Hill and Pinehurst	13284
Haydon Wick	11865
Liden, Eldene and Park South	11187
Lydiard and Freshbrook	10489
Mannington and Western	10904
Old Town	10780
Penhill and Upper Stratton	11854
Priory Vale	12334
Ridgeway	3280
Rodbourne Cheney	11983
Shaw	10340
St Andrews	12478
St Margaret and South Marston	11201
Walcot and Park North	13550
Wroughton and Wichelstowe	7991
Swindon Total	222881

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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