Socio-economic statistics for Dunstable, Bedfordshire

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

Dunstable Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Dunstable?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	18.93%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	14.18%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.63%
Skilled Trades	12.85%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.76%
Elementary Occupations	8.56%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.79%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	6.36%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Dunstable Education Statistics

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

Level	Dunstable-Watling	England
No Qualifications	15.38%	18.08%
Level 1	10.34%	9.69%
Level 2	14.76%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.6%	5.32%
Level 3	19.07%	16.92%
Level 4	29.71%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dunstable 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 Central Bedfordshire.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Central Bedfordshire	2.2%	-0.2%
East of England	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 Dunstable 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 Dunstable.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	57.61%
In Part-Time Work	26.32%
Unemployed	3.29%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

73.68% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Dunstable

Dunstable & Central Bedfordshire 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 Dunstable in the Central Bedfordshire local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Dunstable-Watling	87.13%	12.87%
Central Bedfordshire	88.96%	11.04%
East	85.09%	14.91%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dunstable compared to other wards in Central Bedfordshire

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Parkside	72.94%	27.06%
2	Dunstable-Icknield	75.18%	24.82%
3	Tithe Farm	79.37%	20.63%
4	Houghton Hall	79.4%	20.6%
5	Dunstable-Central	80.46%	19.54%
6	Dunstable-Northfields	80.57%	19.43%
7	Dunstable-Manshead	81.35%	18.65%
8	Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	84.34%	15.66%
9	Dunstable-Watling	87.13%	12.87%
10	Leighton Buzzard South	89.22%	10.78%
11	Biggleswade South	90.28%	9.72%
12	Aspley and Woburn	90.5%	9.5%
13	Linslade	90.6%	9.4%
14	Houghton Conquest and Haynes	90.61%	9.39%
15	Toddington	90.61%	9.39%
16	Leighton Buzzard North	90.86%	9.14%
17	Caddington	90.92%	9.08%
18	Biggleswade North	91.08%	8.92%
19	Heath and Reach	91.17%	8.83%
20	Arlesey	91.95%	8.05%
21	Flitwick	91.99%	8.01%
22	Sandy	92.36%	7.64%
23	Stotfold and Langford	92.7%	7.3%
24	Eaton Bray	93.31%	6.69%
25	Shefford	93.37%	6.63%
26	Silsoe and Shillington	93.45%	6.55%
27	Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	93.53%	6.47%
28	Barton-le-Clay	93.66%	6.34%
29	Potton	93.82%	6.18%
30	Northill	93.83%	6.17%
31	Ampthill	94.19%	5.81%

';Dunstable is ranked 9 out of 31 wards in Central Bedfordshire for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dunstable Health Statistics

Dunstable-Watling 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
Dunstable-Watling	48.05%	36.11%	12.08%	3.02%	0.73%
Central Bedfordshire	50.37%	34.49%	11.33%	3%	0.82%
East	48.28%	34.64%	12.5%	3.58%	1%
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 Central Bedfordshire changed since 2011?

Central Bedfordshire residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.19% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	49.15%	35.52%	11.48%	3.02%	0.84%
2021	50.37%	34.49%	11.33%	3%	0.82%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Dunstable and Central Bedfordshire

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Dunstable either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 78.86 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 21.14 of Dunstable residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Dunstable-Watling	78.86%	21.14%
Central Bedfordshire	71.16%	28.84%
East	65.23%	34.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Dunstable compared to other wards in Central Bedfordshire

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	82.28%	17.72%
2	Barton-le-Clay	82.24%	17.76%
3	Heath and Reach	79.35%	20.65%
4	Caddington	79.3%	20.7%
5	Dunstable-Watling	78.86%	21.14%
6	Eaton Bray	77.96%	22.04%
7	Ampthill	76.67%	23.33%
8	Stotfold and Langford	76.3%	23.7%
9	Toddington	75.56%	24.44%
10	Houghton Conquest and Haynes	75%	25%
11	Dunstable-Icknield	74.55%	25.45%
12	Linslade	73.56%	26.44%
13	Flitwick	73.15%	26.85%
14	Silsoe and Shillington	72.5%	27.5%
15	Potton	72.06%	27.94%
16	Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	71.55%	28.45%
17	Arlesey	70.79%	29.21%
18	Leighton Buzzard South	69.7%	30.3%
19	Biggleswade South	69.33%	30.67%
20	Northill	69.19%	30.81%
21	Shefford	69.05%	30.95%
22	Leighton Buzzard North	69.04%	30.96%
23	Sandy	67.25%	32.75%
24	Aspley and Woburn	66.73%	33.27%
25	Biggleswade North	66.5%	33.5%
26	Houghton Hall	63.22%	36.78%
27	Dunstable-Central	62.09%	37.91%
28	Dunstable-Northfields	61.74%	38.26%
29	Dunstable-Manshead	59.67%	40.33%
30	Tithe Farm	59.08%	40.92%
31	Parkside (Central Bedfordshire)	54.63%	45.37%

Dunstable is ranked 5 out of 31 wards in Central Bedfordshire for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Dunstable and Central Bedfordshire?

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

Ward	Population
Ampthill	13872
Arlesey	16547
Aspley and Woburn	4872
Barton-le-Clay	4972
Biggleswade North	10433
Biggleswade South	11715
Caddington	10001
Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	16524
Dunstable-Central	5809
Dunstable-Icknield	9056
Dunstable-Manshead	5747
Dunstable-Northfields	11011
Dunstable-Watling	9456
Eaton Bray	4561
Flitwick	14033
Heath and Reach	4550
Houghton Conquest and Haynes	3337
Houghton Hall	9272
Leighton Buzzard North	15352
Leighton Buzzard South	15621
Linslade	12230
Northill	4511
Parkside	5437
Potton	8476
Sandy	13814
Shefford	10757
Silsoe and Shillington	5917
Stotfold and Langford	16427
Tithe Farm	5064
Toddington	9922
Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	4800
Central Bedfordshire Total	294096

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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