Socio-economic statistics for Great Barr, Sandwell

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

Great Barr 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 Sandwell.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Sandwell	6.4%	-0.3%
West Midlands	5%	-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 Great Barr 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 Great Barr.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.92%
In Part-Time Work	25.4%
Unemployed	5.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.6% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Great Barr

Great Barr Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

How many residents own or rent their home in Great Barr and Sandwell

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Great Barr either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 71.12 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 28.88 of Great Barr residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Newton (Sandwell)	71.12%	28.88%
Sandwell	53.75%	46.25%
West Midlands	62.8%	37.2%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Great Barr compared to other wards in Sandwell

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Newton (Sandwell)	71.12%	28.88%
2	Old Warley	68.33%	31.67%
3	Great Barr with Yew Tree	66.37%	33.63%
4	Charlemont with Grove Vale	64.51%	35.49%
5	Bristnall	62.79%	37.21%
6	Tividale	61.92%	38.08%
7	Rowley (Sandwell)	60.37%	39.63%
8	Blackheath (Sandwell)	59.86%	40.14%
9	Abbey (Sandwell)	58.36%	41.64%
10	Oldbury	54.18%	45.82%
11	Wednesbury South	54.12%	45.88%
12	Wednesbury North	53.49%	46.51%
13	Cradley Heath and Old Hill	52.34%	47.66%
14	Friar Park	52.25%	47.75%
15	St Pauls (Sandwell)	52.16%	47.84%
16	Langley	52.02%	47.98%
17	Great Bridge	49.75%	50.25%
18	Tipton Green	48.85%	51.15%
19	Hateley Heath	48.22%	51.78%
20	Smethwick	46.03%	53.97%
21	Greets Green and Lyng	43.85%	56.15%
22	Princes End	43.48%	56.52%
23	West Bromwich Central	41.2%	58.8%
24	Soho and Victoria	35.46%	64.54%

Great Barr is ranked 1 out of 24 wards in Sandwell for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Great Barr Health Statistics

Newton 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
Newton (Sandwell)	43.85%	36.98%	13.91%	4.19%	1.06%
Sandwell	44.86%	34.16%	14.35%	5.11%	1.53%
West Midlands	46.4%	34.38%	13.54%	4.37%	1.31%
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 Sandwell changed since 2011?

Sandwell residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 2.33% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	41.93%	34.76%	15.61%	5.9%	1.8%
2021	44.86%	34.16%	14.35%	5.11%	1.53%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Great Barr & Sandwell 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 Great Barr in the Sandwell local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Newton (Sandwell)	78.25%	21.75%
Sandwell	76.41%	23.59%
West Midlands	84.84%	15.17%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Great Barr compared to other wards in Sandwell

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Soho and Victoria	50.11%	49.89%
2	St Pauls	56.33%	43.67%
3	West Bromwich Central	59.43%	40.57%
4	Smethwick	63.49%	36.51%
5	Greets Green and Lyng	64.01%	35.99%
6	Oldbury	70.78%	29.22%
7	Wednesbury South	75.62%	24.38%
8	Hateley Heath	75.69%	24.31%
9	Abbey	75.94%	24.06%
10	Newton	78.25%	21.75%
11	Great Bridge	79.49%	20.51%
12	Tipton Green	79.63%	20.37%
13	Langley	80%	20%
14	Charlemont with Grove Vale	80.53%	19.47%
15	Bristnall	82.03%	17.97%
16	Great Barr with Yew Tree	82.08%	17.92%
17	Old Warley	84.11%	15.9%
18	Tividale	85.78%	14.22%
19	Wednesbury North	86.12%	13.88%
20	Princes End	88.34%	11.66%
21	Cradley Heath and Old Hill	89.67%	10.33%
22	Blackheath	89.67%	10.33%
23	Friar Park	89.98%	10.02%
24	Rowley	90.77%	9.23%

';Great Barr is ranked 10 out of 24 wards in Sandwell for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Great Barr?

The largest employment sector in Great Barr is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	17.37%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.01%
Administrative & Secretarial	11.47%
Elementary Occupations	11.15%
Skilled Trades	10.33%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	10.23%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	10.01%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	8.11%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Great Barr Education Statistics

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

Level	Newton	England
No Qualifications	23.94%	18.08%
Level 1	10.55%	9.69%
Level 2	13.43%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.13%	5.32%
Level 3	16.21%	16.92%
Level 4	27.11%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Great Barr and Sandwell?

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

Ward	Population
Abbey	12640
Blackheath	12192
Bristnall	12266
Charlemont with Grove Vale	12281
Cradley Heath and Old Hill	13934
Friar Park	12735
Great Barr with Yew Tree	12890
Great Bridge	13533
Greets Green and Lyng	13939
Hateley Heath	15250
Langley	13957
Newton	12455
Old Warley	12256
Oldbury	15228
Princes End	13548
Rowley	12149
Smethwick	15302
Soho and Victoria	17764
St Pauls	15880
Tipton Green	14581
Tividale	12968
Wednesbury North	13175
Wednesbury South	13581
West Bromwich Central	14538
Sandwell Total	329042

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