Socio-economic statistics for Highbury, City of Portsmouth

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

Highbury & Portsmouth 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 Highbury in the Portsmouth local area district.

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

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Hilsea	86.22%	13.78%
Portsmouth	83.06%	16.94%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highbury compared to other wards in Portsmouth

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Charles Dickens	74.73%	25.27%
2	St Thomas	74.81%	25.19%
3	St Jude	76.14%	23.86%
4	Fratton	77.67%	22.33%
5	Central Southsea	79%	21%
6	Eastney and Craneswater	81.33%	18.67%
7	Nelson	81.43%	18.57%
8	Milton	85.36%	14.64%
9	Hilsea	86.22%	13.78%
10	Cosham	87.33%	12.67%
11	Copnor	89.53%	10.47%
12	Paulsgrove	90.46%	9.54%
13	Baffins	91.02%	8.98%
14	Drayton and Farlington	92.97%	7.03%

';Highbury is ranked 9 out of 14 wards in Portsmouth for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highbury Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Highbury Education Statistics

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

Level	Hilsea	England
No Qualifications	19.36%	18.08%
Level 1	10.37%	9.69%
Level 2	14.79%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.45%	5.32%
Level 3	19.01%	16.92%
Level 4	27.13%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Highbury and Portsmouth

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Highbury either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 61.04 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 38.96 of Highbury residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Hilsea	61.04%	38.96%
Portsmouth	52.26%	47.74%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highbury has a lower level of home ownership than than the national average.

Highbury compared to other wards in Portsmouth

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Drayton and Farlington	82.61%	17.39%
2	Copnor	75.08%	24.92%
3	Baffins	70.95%	29.05%
4	Milton (Portsmouth)	61.76%	38.24%
5	Cosham	61.17%	38.83%
6	Hilsea	61.04%	38.96%
7	Eastney and Craneswater	54.9%	45.1%
8	Paulsgrove	53.05%	46.95%
9	Central Southsea	47.43%	52.57%
10	Fratton	46.87%	53.13%
11	Nelson (Portsmouth)	46.36%	53.64%
12	St Jude	42.46%	57.54%
13	St Thomas (Portsmouth)	33.58%	66.42%
14	Charles Dickens	13.78%	86.22%

Highbury is ranked 6 out of 14 wards in Portsmouth for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Highbury?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	17.54%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.42%
Skilled Trades	12.31%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	10.72%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.6%
Elementary Occupations	10.4%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.17%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	6.93%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Highbury Health Statistics

Hilsea 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
Hilsea	47.48%	35.59%	12.18%	3.63%	1.11%
Portsmouth	47.36%	34.83%	12.86%	3.85%	1.11%
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 Portsmouth changed since 2011?

Portsmouth residents who describe their health as either good or very good has decreased by 0.34% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.69%	34.84%	12.42%	3.9%	1.15%
2021	47.36%	34.83%	12.86%	3.85%	1.11%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highbury 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 Portsmouth.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Portsmouth	4.6%	-0.4%
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 Highbury 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 Highbury.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	61.62%
In Part-Time Work	26.43%
Unemployed	4.05%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

73.57% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Highbury

What is the population of Highbury and Portsmouth?

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

Ward	Population
Baffins	15061
Central Southsea	16789
Charles Dickens	24370
Copnor	13418
Cosham	14670
Drayton and Farlington	13314
Eastney and Craneswater	13721
Fratton	15747
Hilsea	13543
Milton	14295
Nelson	15110
Paulsgrove	14142
St Jude	12842
St Thomas	17670
Portsmouth Total	214692

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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