Socio-economic statistics for Harleston, Norfolk

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

How many residents own or rent their home in Harleston and South Norfolk

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Harleston either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 67.94 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 32.06 of Harleston residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Harleston	67.94%	32.06%
South Norfolk	73.14%	26.86%
East	65.23%	34.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Harleston compared to other wards in South Norfolk

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Forncett	83.93%	16.07%
2	Bunwell	82.12%	17.88%
3	Hempnall	81.55%	18.45%
4	Thurlton	80.95%	19.05%
5	Rockland	80.42%	19.58%
6	Brooke	79.48%	20.52%
7	Wicklewood	79.48%	20.52%
8	Mulbarton & Stoke Holy Cross	78.56%	21.44%
9	Easton (South Norfolk)	78.33%	21.67%
10	Newton Flotman	77.12%	22.88%
11	New Costessey	75.64%	24.36%
12	Bressingham & Burston	75.47%	24.54%
13	Hethersett	74.93%	25.07%
14	Hingham & Deopham	74.84%	25.16%
15	Poringland, Framinghams & Trowse	74.76%	25.24%
16	Ditchingham & Earsham	74.72%	25.28%
17	South Wymondham	71.94%	28.06%
18	Cringleford	71.85%	28.15%
19	North Wymondham	71.76%	28.24%
20	Beck Vale, Dickleburgh & Scole	71.3%	28.7%
21	Loddon & Chedgrave	69.85%	30.16%
22	Old Costessey	68.74%	31.26%
23	Harleston	67.94%	32.06%
24	Stratton (South Norfolk)	67.8%	32.2%
25	Central Wymondham	66.98%	33.02%
26	Diss & Roydon	62.88%	37.12%

Harleston is ranked 23 out of 26 wards in South Norfolk for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Harleston 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 South Norfolk.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
South Norfolk	2%	-0.4%
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 Harleston 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 Harleston.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.07%
In Part-Time Work	29.42%
Unemployed	3.55%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

70.58% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Harleston

What are the occupations of the residents of Harleston?

The largest employment sector in Harleston is Skilled Trades. The smallest employment sector is Administrative & Secretarial.

Sector	Proportion
Skilled Trades	16.31%
Professional Occupations	13.78%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	13.04%
Associate Professional & Technical	11.22%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	10.77%
Elementary Occupations	9.62%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	9.1%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.99%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Harleston & South Norfolk 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 Harleston in the South Norfolk local area district.

Harleston has a lower rate of immigrants than South Norfolk, the East of England region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Harleston	95.46%	4.54%
South Norfolk	92.96%	7.04%
East	85.09%	14.91%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Harleston compared to other wards in South Norfolk

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Cringleford	81.86%	18.14%
2	Old Costessey	85.34%	14.66%
3	Diss & Roydon	89.1%	10.9%
4	Hethersett	91.62%	8.38%
5	North Wymondham	92.89%	7.11%
6	Wicklewood	93.02%	6.98%
7	New Costessey	93.45%	6.55%
8	Poringland, Framinghams & Trowse	93.61%	6.39%
9	Central Wymondham	94.03%	5.97%
10	Easton	94.14%	5.86%
11	South Wymondham	94.18%	5.82%
12	Brooke	94.2%	5.8%
13	Stratton	94.8%	5.2%
14	Newton Flotman	94.95%	5.05%
15	Loddon & Chedgrave	95.24%	4.76%
16	Hingham & Deopham	95.26%	4.74%
17	Mulbarton & Stoke Holy Cross	95.3%	4.7%
18	Rockland	95.37%	4.63%
19	Ditchingham & Earsham	95.38%	4.62%
20	Harleston	95.46%	4.54%
21	Forncett	95.53%	4.47%
22	Bressingham & Burston	95.78%	4.22%
23	Hempnall	95.97%	4.03%
24	Beck Vale, Dickleburgh & Scole	96.08%	3.92%
25	Bunwell	96.51%	3.49%
26	Thurlton	96.55%	3.45%

';Harleston is ranked 20 out of 26 wards in South Norfolk for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Harleston Education Statistics

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

Level	Harleston	England
No Qualifications	21.6%	18.08%
Level 1	11.27%	9.69%
Level 2	15.94%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.77%	5.32%
Level 3	17.08%	16.92%
Level 4	23.53%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Harleston Health Statistics

Harleston has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Harleston	41.37%	38.37%	14.93%	4.24%	1.08%
South Norfolk	47.02%	35.46%	13.17%	3.44%	0.91%
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 South Norfolk changed since 2011?

South Norfolk residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.33% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	46.35%	35.8%	13.37%	3.46%	1.02%
2021	47.02%	35.46%	13.17%	3.44%	0.91%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Harleston Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 is the population of Harleston and South Norfolk?

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

Ward	Population
Beck Vale, Dickleburgh & Scole	6538
Bressingham & Burston	3338
Brooke	3376
Bunwell	3124
Central Wymondham	5643
Cringleford	5596
Diss & Roydon	11344
Ditchingham & Earsham	6470
Easton	2166
Forncett	3509
Harleston	6229
Hempnall	3325
Hethersett	8608
Hingham & Deopham	3119
Loddon & Chedgrave	5803
Mulbarton & Stoke Holy Cross	9329
New Costessey	6200
Newton Flotman	3104
North Wymondham	6343
Old Costessey	10883
Poringland, Framinghams & Trowse	8001
Rockland	3421
South Wymondham	5794
Stratton	4451
Thurlton	3157
Wicklewood	4195
South Norfolk Total	143066

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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