Socio-economic statistics for Erith, Bexley

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

Erith 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 Bexley.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Bexley	3%	-0.3%
London	4.8%	-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 Erith 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 Erith.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	58.43%
In Part-Time Work	25.44%
Unemployed	6.09%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.56% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Erith

Erith Education Statistics

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

Level	Northumberland Heath	England
No Qualifications	20.34%	18.08%
Level 1	12.84%	9.69%
Level 2	15.15%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.22%	5.32%
Level 3	16.67%	16.92%
Level 4	26.82%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Erith Health Statistics

Northumberland Heath has more residents (very_good_pc-$country_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Northumberland Heath	49.25%	34.39%	11.83%	3.45%	1.09%
Bexley	50.79%	33.42%	11.47%	3.3%	1.03%
London	53.55%	31.85%	10.33%	3.23%	1.05%
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 Bexley changed since 2011?

Bexley residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.55% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.98%	34.68%	12.51%	3.74%	1.09%
2021	50.79%	33.42%	11.47%	3.3%	1.03%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Erith Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 Erith?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	16.97%
Administrative & Secretarial	13.67%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.13%
Skilled Trades	11.7%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.86%
Elementary Occupations	9.8%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	9.11%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	8.01%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

How many residents own or rent their home in Erith and Bexley

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Erith either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 68.88 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 31.12 of Erith residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Northumberland Heath	68.88%	31.12%
Bexley	68.64%	31.36%
London	45.23%	54.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Erith compared to other wards in Bexley

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Blendon & Penhill	86.4%	13.6%
2	West Heath (Bexley)	83.94%	16.06%
3	Blackfen & Lamorbey	81.64%	18.36%
4	Bexleyheath	79.57%	20.43%
5	Falconwood & Welling	79.26%	20.74%
6	Crook Log	76.53%	23.47%
7	St Mary's & St James (Bexley)	75.91%	24.09%
8	East Wickham	74.74%	25.26%
9	Barnehurst	73.98%	26.02%
10	Longlands	73.12%	26.88%
11	Northumberland Heath	68.88%	31.12%
12	Sidcup	63.06%	36.94%
13	Crayford	61.85%	38.15%
14	Belvedere	56.64%	43.37%
15	Slade Green & Northend	48.18%	51.82%
16	Erith	45.82%	54.18%
17	Thamesmead East	33.68%	66.32%

Erith is ranked 11 out of 17 wards in Bexley for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Erith & Bexley 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 Erith in the Bexley local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Northumberland Heath	81.98%	18.02%
Bexley	79%	21%
London	59.37%	40.63%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Erith compared to other wards in Bexley

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Thamesmead East	57.57%	42.43%
2	Belvedere	67.41%	32.59%
3	Erith	69.9%	30.1%
4	Slade Green & Northend	70.49%	29.51%
5	East Wickham	76.48%	23.52%
6	Falconwood & Welling	77.44%	22.56%
7	Crook Log	80.79%	19.21%
8	Northumberland Heath	81.98%	18.02%
9	Bexleyheath	82.01%	17.99%
10	Crayford	82.12%	17.88%
11	West Heath	82.46%	17.54%
12	Barnehurst	84.54%	15.46%
13	Sidcup	84.92%	15.08%
14	Longlands	87.27%	12.73%
15	Blackfen & Lamorbey	87.41%	12.59%
16	St Mary's & St James	87.59%	12.41%
17	Blendon & Penhill	88.89%	11.11%

';Erith is ranked 8 out of 17 wards in Bexley for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Erith and Bexley?

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

Ward	Population
Barnehurst	12408
Belvedere	18216
Bexleyheath	15383
Blackfen & Lamorbey	16376
Blendon & Penhill	16028
Crayford	16695
Crook Log	15764
East Wickham	15972
Erith	12285
Falconwood & Welling	16942
Longlands	10059
Northumberland Heath	10851
Sidcup	15104
Slade Green & Northend	13092
St Mary's & St James	10581
Thamesmead East	17585
West Heath	15960
Bexley Total	249301

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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