Socio-economic statistics for Higginshaw, Oldham

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

Higginshaw Health Statistics

St Mary's 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
St Mary's (Oldham)	48.02%	32.41%	13.08%	4.92%	1.57%
Oldham	46.92%	32.86%	13.94%	4.84%	1.43%
North West	47.73%	32.71%	13.36%	4.77%	1.43%
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 Oldham changed since 2011?

Oldham residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.3% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	45.14%	33.34%	14.57%	5.42%	1.52%
2021	46.92%	32.86%	13.94%	4.84%	1.43%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higginshaw Education Statistics

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

Level	St Mary's	England
No Qualifications	34.84%	18.08%
Level 1	12.14%	9.69%
Level 2	13.26%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	3.46%	5.32%
Level 3	12.89%	16.92%
Level 4	19.34%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higginshaw Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in St Mary's.

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)

Higginshaw 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 Oldham.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Oldham	6.7%	-0.3%
North West	4.3%	-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 Higginshaw 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 Higginshaw.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	41.95%
In Part-Time Work	37.41%
Unemployed	11.44%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

62.59% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Higginshaw

What are the occupations of the residents of Higginshaw?

The largest employment sector in Higginshaw is Elementary Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	21.11%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	16.41%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	11.64%
Professional Occupations	10.68%
Skilled Trades	9.03%
Associate Professional & Technical	7.33%
Administrative & Secretarial	6.9%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	5.38%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Higginshaw & Oldham 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 Higginshaw in the Oldham local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
St Mary's (Oldham)	65.09%	34.91%
Oldham	83.37%	16.63%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higginshaw compared to other wards in Oldham

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Coldhurst	61.14%	38.86%
2	Werneth	63.22%	36.78%
3	St Mary's	65.09%	34.91%
4	Alexandra	71.15%	28.85%
5	Medlock Vale	72.84%	27.16%
6	Waterhead	78.5%	21.5%
7	Hollinwood	84.44%	15.56%
8	Chadderton North	84.49%	15.51%
9	Chadderton Central	87.28%	12.72%
10	Chadderton South	89%	11%
11	Failsworth West	90.29%	9.71%
12	St James'	91.36%	8.64%
13	Shaw	93.5%	6.5%
14	Royton South	93.68%	6.32%
15	Failsworth East	94.92%	5.08%
16	Crompton	95.69%	4.31%
17	Royton North	96.19%	3.81%
18	Saddleworth West and Lees	96.85%	3.15%
19	Saddleworth South	96.98%	3.02%
20	Saddleworth North	97.07%	2.93%

';Higginshaw is ranked 3 out of 20 wards in Oldham for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Higginshaw and Oldham

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Higginshaw either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 44.76 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 55.24 of Higginshaw residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
St Mary's (Oldham)	44.76%	55.24%
Oldham	60.37%	39.63%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higginshaw has a significantly lower level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically deprived area.

Higginshaw compared to other wards in Oldham

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Saddleworth North	79.83%	20.17%
2	Saddleworth South	79.77%	20.23%
3	Crompton (Oldham)	76.31%	23.69%
4	Saddleworth West and Lees	74.97%	25.03%
5	Royton South	71.68%	28.32%
6	Royton North	71.47%	28.53%
7	Chadderton North	68.41%	31.59%
8	Chadderton Central	68.25%	31.75%
9	Failsworth East	65.58%	34.42%
10	Failsworth West	62.18%	37.82%
11	Shaw (Oldham)	61.99%	38.01%
12	Chadderton South	60.42%	39.58%
13	Waterhead	54.66%	45.34%
14	St James' (Oldham)	54.59%	45.41%
15	Werneth	50.59%	49.41%
16	Medlock Vale	50.01%	49.99%
17	St Mary's (Oldham)	44.76%	55.24%
18	Hollinwood	42.46%	57.54%
19	Coldhurst	36.35%	63.65%
20	Alexandra (Oldham)	36.28%	63.72%

Higginshaw is ranked 17 out of 20 wards in Oldham for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Higginshaw and Oldham?

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

Ward	Population
Alexandra	15090
Chadderton Central	11116
Chadderton North	11415
Chadderton South	11456
Coldhurst	13404
Crompton	10192
Failsworth East	10205
Failsworth West	10447
Hollinwood	12515
Medlock Vale	14402
Royton North	9781
Royton South	10794
Saddleworth North	9753
Saddleworth South	10024
Saddleworth West and Lees	10723
Shaw	10123
St James'	12707
St Mary's	15679
Waterhead	13629
Werneth	14173
Oldham Total	237628

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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