Socio-economic statistics for Keighley, Bradford

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

Keighley Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Keighley 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 Bradford.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Bradford	6.7%	-0.4%
Yorkshire and The Humber	4.2%	-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 Keighley 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 Keighley.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	44.05%
In Part-Time Work	36.72%
Unemployed	9.15%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

63.28% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Keighley

Keighley Education Statistics

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

Level	Keighley Central	England
No Qualifications	31.15%	18.08%
Level 1	12.04%	9.69%
Level 2	13.67%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.43%	5.32%
Level 3	14.18%	16.92%
Level 4	21.31%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Keighley?

The largest employment sector in Keighley is Process Plant & Machine Operatives. The smallest employment sector is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials.

Sector	Proportion
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	16%
Elementary Occupations	14.92%
Professional Occupations	13.21%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	12.3%
Skilled Trades	9.71%
Associate Professional & Technical	8.28%
Administrative & Secretarial	6.6%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	6.19%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Keighley & Bradford 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 Keighley in the Bradford local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Keighley Central	74.46%	25.54%
Bradford	81.34%	18.66%
Yorkshire and The Humber	88.65%	11.35%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Keighley compared to other wards in Bradford

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	City	50.18%	49.82%
2	Manningham	59.49%	40.51%
3	Little Horton	61.47%	38.53%
4	Bradford Moor	62.86%	37.14%
5	Toller	63.34%	36.66%
6	Bowling and Barkerend	67.14%	32.86%
7	Great Horton	68.49%	31.51%
8	Heaton	71%	29%
9	Keighley Central	74.46%	25.54%
10	Clayton and Fairweather Green	81.44%	18.56%
11	Bolton and Undercliffe	81.74%	18.26%
12	Tong	84.88%	15.12%
13	Wibsey	85.32%	14.68%
14	Thornton and Allerton	85.69%	14.31%
15	Eccleshill	86.84%	13.16%
16	Keighley East	88.75%	11.25%
17	Shipley	88.83%	11.17%
18	Royds	90.16%	9.84%
19	Windhill and Wrose	90.97%	9.03%
20	Keighley West	92.56%	7.44%
21	Ilkley	93.66%	6.34%
22	Wyke	93.95%	6.05%
23	Queensbury	94.05%	5.95%
24	Bingley	94.53%	5.47%
25	Idle and Thackley	94.8%	5.2%
26	Bingley Rural	95.3%	4.7%
27	Craven	95.4%	4.6%
28	Baildon	95.61%	4.39%
29	Wharfedale	95.89%	4.11%
30	Worth Valley	97.17%	2.83%

';Keighley is ranked 9 out of 30 wards in Bradford for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Keighley Health Statistics

Keighley Central has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Keighley Central	43.26%	35.01%	15.13%	5.3%	1.29%
Bradford	46.14%	34.53%	13.38%	4.56%	1.39%
Yorkshire and The Humber	46.18%	34.31%	13.7%	4.49%	1.32%
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 Bradford changed since 2011?

Bradford residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.25% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	44.81%	35.61%	13.7%	4.55%	1.33%
2021	46.14%	34.53%	13.38%	4.56%	1.39%

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 Keighley and Bradford

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Keighley either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 55.75 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 44.25 of Keighley residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Keighley Central	55.75%	44.25%
Bradford	61.74%	38.26%
Yorkshire and The Humber	62.58%	37.42%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Keighley compared to other wards in Bradford

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Wharfedale (Bradford)	82.37%	17.63%
2	Ilkley	77.47%	22.53%
3	Craven	76.7%	23.3%
4	Baildon	76.67%	23.33%
5	Worth Valley	76.19%	23.81%
6	Bingley Rural	75.41%	24.59%
7	Keighley East	70.99%	29.01%
8	Bingley	70.71%	29.29%
9	Idle and Thackley	70.41%	29.59%
10	Queensbury (Bradford)	70.38%	29.62%
11	Wyke	67.95%	32.05%
12	Wibsey	64.43%	35.57%
13	Bolton and Undercliffe	64.18%	35.82%
14	Thornton and Allerton	63.58%	36.42%
15	Heaton (Bradford)	62.96%	37.04%
16	Clayton and Fairweather Green	62.01%	37.99%
17	Shipley	61.96%	38.04%
18	Windhill and Wrose	60.96%	39.04%
19	Royds	59.57%	40.43%
20	Toller (Bradford)	58.86%	41.14%
21	Great Horton	58.02%	41.98%
22	Keighley West	57.96%	42.04%
23	Keighley Central	55.75%	44.25%
24	Eccleshill	55.67%	44.33%
25	Bradford Moor	55.11%	44.89%
26	Little Horton	44.69%	55.31%
27	Tong	43.73%	56.27%
28	Manningham	43.7%	56.3%
29	Bowling and Barkerend	41.97%	58.03%
30	City (Bradford)	27.71%	72.29%

Keighley is ranked 23 out of 30 wards in Bradford for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Keighley and Bradford?

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

Ward	Population
Baildon	15263
Bingley	18275
Bingley Rural	18716
Bolton and Undercliffe	17122
Bowling and Barkerend	22379
Bradford Moor	21358
City	25951
Clayton and Fairweather Green	17412
Craven	17014
Eccleshill	19602
Great Horton	19202
Heaton	18544
Idle and Thackley	16846
Ilkley	14757
Keighley Central	18448
Keighley East	16604
Keighley West	16813
Little Horton	23338
Manningham	20314
Queensbury	16943
Royds	17706
Shipley	15644
Thornton and Allerton	18277
Toller	20343
Tong	22712
Wharfedale	11911
Wibsey	15007
Windhill and Wrose	16294
Worth Valley	14153
Wyke	15180
Bradford Total	542128

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