Socio-economic statistics for Highfield, City of Southampton

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

Highfield Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Highfield 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 Southampton.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Southampton	4.2%	-0.5%
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 Highfield 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 Highfield.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	42.72%
In Part-Time Work	25.22%
Unemployed	5.29%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.78% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Highfield

What are the occupations of the residents of Highfield?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	29.74%
Elementary Occupations	11.86%
Associate Professional & Technical	11.71%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	9.54%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	8.88%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.19%
Skilled Trades	6.81%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	6.49%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Highfield Education Statistics

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

Level	Portswood	England
No Qualifications	11.72%	18.08%
Level 1	5.66%	9.69%
Level 2	7.79%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	3.12%	5.32%
Level 3	27.27%	16.92%
Level 4	41.78%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highfield & Southampton 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 Highfield in the Southampton local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Portswood	69.87%	30.13%
Southampton	75.86%	24.14%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highfield compared to other wards in Southampton

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Bevois	54.62%	45.38%
2	Bargate	58.84%	41.16%
3	Freemantle	64.8%	35.2%
4	Portswood	69.87%	30.13%
5	Swaythling	70.64%	29.36%
6	Bassett	72.43%	27.57%
7	Shirley	73.51%	26.49%
8	Millbrook	79.03%	20.97%
9	Coxford	82.7%	17.3%
10	Bitterne Park	83.53%	16.47%
11	Woolston	84.22%	15.78%
12	Redbridge	84.65%	15.35%
13	Harefield	85.58%	14.42%
14	Peartree	86.6%	13.4%
15	Bitterne	88.6%	11.4%
16	Sholing	89.88%	10.12%

';Highfield is ranked 4 out of 16 wards in Southampton for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Highfield Health Statistics

Portswood has more residents (very_good_pc-$country_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Portswood	50.46%	34.51%	10.86%	3.29%	0.87%
Southampton	47.69%	35.09%	12.25%	3.83%	1.14%
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 Southampton changed since 2011?

Southampton residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.23% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.56%	34.99%	12.36%	3.89%	1.2%
2021	47.69%	35.09%	12.25%	3.83%	1.14%

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 Highfield and Southampton

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Highfield either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 41.08 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 58.92 of Highfield residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Portswood	41.08%	58.92%
Southampton	47.74%	52.26%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Highfield compared to other wards in Southampton

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Sholing	69.85%	30.15%
2	Bitterne Park	63.31%	36.69%
3	Peartree (Southampton)	62.03%	37.97%
4	Bassett	61.11%	38.89%
5	Harefield	60.48%	39.52%
6	Shirley	55.24%	44.76%
7	Coxford	53.74%	46.26%
8	Millbrook	51.35%	48.65%
9	Woolston	46.97%	53.03%
10	Redbridge	46.47%	53.53%
11	Bitterne	43.18%	56.82%
12	Portswood	41.08%	58.92%
13	Freemantle	40.77%	59.23%
14	Swaythling	36.99%	63.01%
15	Bargate	23.93%	76.08%
16	Bevois	23.36%	76.64%

Highfield is ranked 12 out of 16 wards in Southampton for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Highfield and Southampton?

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

Ward	Population
Bargate	25886
Bassett	15429
Bevois	19854
Bitterne	14071
Bitterne Park	14112
Coxford	13654
Freemantle	17072
Harefield	13797
Millbrook	15499
Peartree	14053
Portswood	15670
Redbridge	15611
Shirley	14879
Sholing	13231
Swaythling	14873
Woolston	15181
Southampton Total	252872

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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