Socio-economic statistics for Handcross, West Sussex

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

What are the occupations of the residents of Handcross?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	21.64%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	18.78%
Associate Professional & Technical	15.8%
Skilled Trades	9.44%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.1%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	8.64%
Elementary Occupations	6.53%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.78%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Handcross 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 Mid Sussex.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Mid Sussex	1.6%	-0.3%
South East	2.9%	-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 Handcross 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 Handcross.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	63.24%
In Part-Time Work	27.18%
Unemployed	3.04%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

72.82% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Handcross

How many residents own or rent their home in Handcross and Mid Sussex

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Handcross either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 64.84 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 35.16 of Handcross residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Ardingly and Balcombe	64.84%	35.16%
Mid Sussex	72.63%	27.37%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Handcross compared to other wards in Mid Sussex

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	East Grinstead Herontye	85.13%	14.87%
2	East Grinstead Imberhorne	84.43%	15.57%
3	Copthorne and Worth	83.32%	16.68%
4	Burgess Hill Franklands	83.09%	16.91%
5	Ashurst Wood	81.66%	18.34%
6	Lindfield	80.76%	19.24%
7	Crawley Down and Turners Hill	80.05%	19.95%
8	Hassocks	79.72%	20.29%
9	High Weald	78.53%	21.47%
10	Burgess Hill Dunstall	77.47%	22.53%
11	Bolney	77.37%	22.63%
12	Burgess Hill St Andrews	75.97%	24.03%
13	Burgess Hill Leylands	73.79%	26.21%
14	Burgess Hill Victoria	73.05%	26.95%
15	East Grinstead Baldwins	72.97%	27.03%
16	Hurstpierpoint and Downs	72.66%	27.34%
17	Cuckfield	72.19%	27.81%
18	East Grinstead Ashplats	69.14%	30.86%
19	Haywards Heath Lucastes	69.01%	30.99%
20	Haywards Heath Franklands	66.8%	33.2%
21	Ardingly and Balcombe	64.84%	35.16%
22	Burgess Hill Meeds	63.98%	36.02%
23	Haywards Heath Ashenground	63.97%	36.03%
24	Haywards Heath Bentswood	61.87%	38.13%
25	Haywards Heath Heath	59.19%	40.81%
26	East Grinstead Town	54.96%	45.04%

Handcross is ranked 21 out of 26 wards in Mid Sussex for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Handcross Education Statistics

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

Level	Ardingly and Balcombe	England
No Qualifications	11.13%	18.08%
Level 1	9.2%	9.69%
Level 2	14.62%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.45%	5.32%
Level 3	19.57%	16.92%
Level 4	38.57%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Handcross Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Handcross Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Ardingly and Balcombe	54.5%	31.5%	10.28%	2.93%	0.79%
Mid Sussex	52.92%	33.07%	10.51%	2.74%	0.76%
South East	49.98%	34.01%	11.77%	3.31%	0.93%
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 Mid Sussex changed since 2011?

Mid Sussex residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.21% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	51.8%	33.98%	10.68%	2.76%	0.78%
2021	52.92%	33.07%	10.51%	2.74%	0.76%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Handcross & Mid Sussex 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 Handcross in the Mid Sussex local area district.

Handcross has a lower rate of immigrants than Mid Sussex, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Ardingly and Balcombe	88.35%	11.65%
Mid Sussex	88.09%	11.91%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Handcross compared to other wards in Mid Sussex

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	East Grinstead Town	76.62%	23.38%
2	Haywards Heath Heath	79.6%	20.4%
3	Burgess Hill Meeds	80.18%	19.82%
4	Haywards Heath Bentswood	84.25%	15.75%
5	Haywards Heath Lucastes	84.31%	15.69%
6	Haywards Heath Ashenground	84.64%	15.36%
7	Haywards Heath Franklands	86.52%	13.48%
8	Ardingly and Balcombe	88.35%	11.65%
9	Cuckfield	88.37%	11.64%
10	East Grinstead Ashplats	88.7%	11.3%
11	Burgess Hill Victoria	88.81%	11.19%
12	East Grinstead Baldwins	89.07%	10.93%
13	East Grinstead Imberhorne	89.26%	10.74%
14	Burgess Hill St Andrews	89.75%	10.25%
15	Lindfield	89.99%	10.01%
16	Copthorne and Worth	90.06%	9.94%
17	Burgess Hill Dunstall	90.25%	9.75%
18	Burgess Hill Leylands	90.34%	9.66%
19	East Grinstead Herontye	90.54%	9.46%
20	Burgess Hill Franklands	90.82%	9.18%
21	Ashurst Wood	90.92%	9.08%
22	Crawley Down and Turners Hill	91.11%	8.89%
23	Bolney	91.33%	8.67%
24	High Weald	91.38%	8.62%
25	Hassocks	92.3%	7.7%
26	Hurstpierpoint and Downs	92.72%	7.28%

';Handcross is ranked 8 out of 26 wards in Mid Sussex for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Handcross and Mid Sussex?

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

Ward	Population
Ardingly and Balcombe	6628
Ashurst Wood	2841
Bolney	2982
Burgess Hill Dunstall	5192
Burgess Hill Franklands	5020
Burgess Hill Leylands	4624
Burgess Hill Meeds	5043
Burgess Hill St Andrews	5950
Burgess Hill Victoria	6159
Copthorne and Worth	5125
Crawley Down and Turners Hill	7719
Cuckfield	6430
East Grinstead Ashplats	6019
East Grinstead Baldwins	5226
East Grinstead Herontye	4948
East Grinstead Imberhorne	4734
East Grinstead Town	5967
Hassocks	8322
Haywards Heath Ashenground	5776
Haywards Heath Bentswood	6490
Haywards Heath Franklands	5657
Haywards Heath Heath	6025
Haywards Heath Lucastes	7195
High Weald	4865
Hurstpierpoint and Downs	8926
Lindfield	8279
Mid Sussex Total	152142

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