Socio-economic statistics for Higher Blackley, Manchester

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

Higher Blackley Age Distribution Statistics

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

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 are the occupations of the residents of Higher Blackley?

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

Sector	Proportion
Elementary Occupations	15.83%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	14.49%
Professional Occupations	13.63%
Associate Professional & Technical	10.06%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.68%
Skilled Trades	9.42%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	8.93%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	7.81%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Higher Blackley & Manchester 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 Higher Blackley in the Manchester local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Higher Blackley	77.72%	22.28%
Manchester	68.62%	31.38%
North West	88.33%	11.67%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higher Blackley compared to other wards in Manchester

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Cheetham	51.33%	48.67%
2	Ardwick	51.57%	48.43%
3	Longsight	52.34%	47.66%
4	Moss Side	52.6%	47.4%
5	Crumpsall	57.06%	42.94%
6	Deansgate	57.54%	42.46%
7	Rusholme	57.55%	42.45%
8	Levenshulme	58%	42%
9	Piccadilly	60.8%	39.2%
10	Harpurhey	61.92%	38.08%
11	Whalley Range	64.02%	35.98%
12	Clayton & Openshaw	64.32%	35.68%
13	Gorton & Abbey Hey	64.44%	35.56%
14	Hulme	66.49%	33.51%
15	Ancoats & Beswick	69.35%	30.65%
16	Fallowfield	72.97%	27.03%
17	Burnage	72.99%	27.01%
18	Miles Platting & Newton Heath	73.5%	26.5%
19	Moston	74.58%	25.42%
20	Charlestown	75.56%	24.44%
21	Old Moat	76.22%	23.78%
22	Higher Blackley	77.72%	22.28%
23	Chorlton Park	77.82%	22.18%
24	Withington	77.98%	22.02%
25	Didsbury East	80.36%	19.64%
26	Didsbury West	80.54%	19.46%
27	Sharston	81.45%	18.55%
28	Woodhouse Park	81.66%	18.34%
29	Baguley	81.84%	18.16%
30	Northenden	82.35%	17.65%
31	Chorlton	84.39%	15.61%
32	Brooklands	84.54%	15.46%

';Higher Blackley is ranked 22 out of 32 wards in Manchester for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higher Blackley 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 Manchester.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Manchester	6.1%	-0.5%
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 Higher Blackley 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 Higher Blackley.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	50.6%
In Part-Time Work	30.01%
Unemployed	7.68%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

69.99% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Higher Blackley

How many residents own or rent their home in Higher Blackley and Manchester

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Higher Blackley either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 43.2 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 56.8 of Higher Blackley residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Higher Blackley	43.2%	56.8%
Manchester	37.22%	62.78%
North West	62.33%	37.67%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Higher Blackley compared to other wards in Manchester

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Didsbury East	67.56%	32.44%
2	Chorlton	62.08%	37.92%
3	Moston	54.06%	45.94%
4	Chorlton Park	53.54%	46.46%
5	Burnage	50.61%	49.39%
6	Brooklands (Manchester)	50.4%	49.6%
7	Didsbury West	48.18%	51.82%
8	Northenden	46.28%	53.72%
9	Levenshulme	44.68%	55.32%
10	Crumpsall	43.62%	56.38%
11	Higher Blackley	43.2%	56.8%
12	Charlestown	41.74%	58.26%
13	Baguley	39.78%	60.22%
14	Whalley Range	37.06%	62.94%
15	Sharston	36.12%	63.88%
16	Withington	35.61%	64.39%
17	Gorton & Abbey Hey	35.17%	64.83%
18	Woodhouse Park	34.66%	65.34%
19	Old Moat	33.23%	66.77%
20	Miles Platting & Newton Heath	32.42%	67.58%
21	Longsight	32.13%	67.87%
22	Rusholme	31.29%	68.71%
23	Cheetham	29.48%	70.52%
24	Clayton & Openshaw	29.17%	70.83%
25	Fallowfield	28.72%	71.28%
26	Harpurhey	28.36%	71.64%
27	Ancoats & Beswick	25.43%	74.57%
28	Deansgate	22.87%	77.13%
29	Moss Side (Manchester)	20.79%	79.21%
30	Ardwick	20.45%	79.55%
31	Piccadilly	19.51%	80.49%
32	Hulme	18.74%	81.26%

Higher Blackley is ranked 11 out of 32 wards in Manchester for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higher Blackley Education Statistics

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

Level	Higher Blackley	England
No Qualifications	28.06%	18.08%
Level 1	10.91%	9.69%
Level 2	13.71%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.43%	5.32%
Level 3	15.35%	16.92%
Level 4	23.76%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Higher Blackley Health Statistics

Higher Blackley 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
Higher Blackley	46.18%	31.26%	14.34%	6.1%	2.13%
Manchester	50.83%	31.43%	11.77%	4.51%	1.46%
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 Manchester changed since 2011?

Manchester residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.81% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	48.76%	31.69%	12.45%	5.37%	1.72%
2021	50.83%	31.43%	11.77%	4.51%	1.46%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Higher Blackley and Manchester?

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

Ward	Population
Ancoats & Beswick	15239
Ardwick	24133
Baguley	14665
Brooklands	14737
Burnage	17421
Charlestown	16237
Cheetham	20557
Chorlton	13017
Chorlton Park	16848
Clayton & Openshaw	18320
Crumpsall	17080
Deansgate	18790
Didsbury East	14493
Didsbury West	15470
Fallowfield	16581
Gorton & Abbey Hey	21365
Harpurhey	19872
Higher Blackley	14849
Hulme	22038
Levenshulme	19180
Longsight	19379
Miles Platting & Newton Heath	17855
Moss Side	20745
Moston	17831
Northenden	13904
Old Moat	14845
Piccadilly	20356
Rusholme	17507
Sharston	16570
Whalley Range	16137
Withington	15074
Woodhouse Park	14646
Manchester Total	555741

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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