Socio-economic statistics for High Cross, Hertfordshire

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

High Cross Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Aldenham West	57.32%	29.18%	10.07%	2.76%	0.67%
Hertsmere	53.47%	31.89%	10.76%	2.97%	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 Hertsmere changed since 2011?

Hertsmere residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.94% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	51.54%	32.88%	11.43%	3.21%	0.94%
2021	53.47%	31.89%	10.76%	2.97%	0.91%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in High Cross and Hertsmere

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in High Cross either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 69.75 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 30.25 of High Cross residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Aldenham West	69.75%	30.25%
Hertsmere	64.19%	35.81%
East	65.23%	34.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

High Cross compared to other wards in Hertsmere

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Aldenham East	79.46%	20.54%
2	Bushey Park	78.34%	21.66%
3	Bentley Heath & The Royds	75.46%	24.54%
4	Potters Bar Parkfield	74.96%	25.04%
5	Elstree	73.32%	26.68%
6	Bushey Heath	72.88%	27.12%
7	Aldenham West	69.75%	30.25%
8	Potters Bar Furzefield	68.67%	31.33%
9	Shenley	67.3%	32.7%
10	Bushey North	65.8%	34.2%
11	Potters Bar Oakmere	63.33%	36.67%
12	Bushey St James	63.14%	36.86%
13	Borehamwood Hillside	56.56%	43.44%
14	Borehamwood Kenilworth	53.11%	46.89%
15	Borehamwood Brookmeadow	50.68%	49.32%
16	Borehamwood Cowley Hill	44.91%	55.09%

High Cross is ranked 7 out of 16 wards in Hertsmere for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

High Cross Education Statistics

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

Level	Aldenham West	England
No Qualifications	13.85%	18.08%
Level 1	8.04%	9.69%
Level 2	12.66%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	3.83%	5.32%
Level 3	13.83%	16.92%
Level 4	45.76%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

High Cross 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 Hertsmere.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Hertsmere	2.8%	-0.5%
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 High Cross 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 High Cross.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	58.9%
In Part-Time Work	31.48%
Unemployed	3.49%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

68.52% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in High Cross

What are the occupations of the residents of High Cross?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	27.57%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	25.26%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.97%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.07%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.23%
Skilled Trades	5.91%
Elementary Occupations	4.74%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	3.08%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

High Cross & Hertsmere 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 High Cross in the Hertsmere local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Aldenham West	82.64%	17.36%
Hertsmere	77.12%	22.88%
East	85.09%	14.91%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

High Cross compared to other wards in Hertsmere

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Borehamwood Brookmeadow	70.82%	29.18%
2	Borehamwood Hillside	71.54%	28.46%
3	Borehamwood Kenilworth	72.54%	27.46%
4	Elstree	74.43%	25.57%
5	Borehamwood Cowley Hill	74.89%	25.11%
6	Bushey North	76.08%	23.92%
7	Bushey Heath	77.47%	22.53%
8	Potters Bar Parkfield	78%	22%
9	Potters Bar Oakmere	78.96%	21.04%
10	Bentley Heath & The Royds	79.07%	20.93%
11	Bushey St James	80.02%	19.98%
12	Bushey Park	80.35%	19.65%
13	Aldenham East	80.84%	19.16%
14	Potters Bar Furzefield	81.25%	18.75%
15	Aldenham West	82.64%	17.36%
16	Shenley	85.25%	14.75%

';High Cross is ranked 15 out of 16 wards in Hertsmere for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

High Cross Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 High Cross and Hertsmere?

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

Ward	Population
Aldenham East	4824
Aldenham West	5220
Bentley Heath & The Royds	5939
Borehamwood Brookmeadow	8682
Borehamwood Cowley Hill	9070
Borehamwood Hillside	8599
Borehamwood Kenilworth	8574
Bushey Heath	5230
Bushey North	8279
Bushey Park	6669
Bushey St James	7252
Elstree	5038
Potters Bar Furzefield	5473
Potters Bar Oakmere	5691
Potters Bar Parkfield	5471
Shenley	5460
Hertsmere Total	105471

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