Kirdford, West Sussex - iLiveHere: Best & Worst UK Towns Reviewed

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

Kirdford Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Kirdford & Chichester 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 Kirdford in the Chichester local area district.

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

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Loxwood	91.82%	8.18%
Chichester	89.93%	10.07%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Kirdford compared to other wards in Chichester

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Chichester Central	82.55%	17.45%
2	Chichester East	83.61%	16.39%
3	Chichester North	86.85%	13.15%
4	Chichester South	86.9%	13.1%
5	North Mundham & Tangmere	87.05%	12.95%
6	Fernhurst	89.38%	10.62%
7	Southbourne	89.89%	10.11%
8	Fittleworth	90.05%	9.95%
9	Midhurst	90.12%	9.88%
10	Chichester West	90.16%	9.84%
11	Easebourne	90.48%	9.52%
12	Harting	90.95%	9.05%
13	Harbour Villages	90.96%	9.04%
14	Goodwood	91.58%	8.42%
15	Selsey South	91.68%	8.32%
16	Loxwood	91.82%	8.18%
17	Petworth	92.11%	7.89%
18	Sidlesham with Selsey North	92.72%	7.28%
19	The Witterings	93.2%	6.8%
20	Lavant	93.33%	6.67%
21	Westbourne	93.94%	6.06%

';Kirdford is ranked 16 out of 21 wards in Chichester for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Kirdford?

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

Sector	Proportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	23.74%
Professional Occupations	19.36%
Associate Professional & Technical	14.45%
Skilled Trades	13.15%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.13%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.18%
Elementary Occupations	6.18%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	2.6%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Kirdford Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Loxwood	54.98%	32.08%	10.26%	2.15%	0.53%
Chichester	49.04%	34.27%	12.39%	3.37%	0.94%
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 Chichester changed since 2011?

Chichester residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.72% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	47.64%	34.95%	13.09%	3.36%	0.96%
2021	49.04%	34.27%	12.39%	3.37%	0.94%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Kirdford Education Statistics

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

Level	Loxwood	England
No Qualifications	11.58%	18.08%
Level 1	9.48%	9.69%
Level 2	15.07%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.57%	5.32%
Level 3	17.09%	16.92%
Level 4	40.29%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Kirdford 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 Chichester.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Chichester	2.9%	-0.3%
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 Kirdford 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 Kirdford.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	55.86%
In Part-Time Work	33.07%
Unemployed	3.14%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

66.93% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Kirdford

How many residents own or rent their home in Kirdford and Chichester

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Kirdford either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 76.36 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 23.65 of Kirdford residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Loxwood	76.36%	23.65%
Chichester	65.36%	34.64%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Kirdford has a significantly higher level of home ownership than the national average. This is indicative or an economically wealthy area.

Kirdford compared to other wards in Chichester

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Selsey South	77.68%	22.32%
2	Loxwood	76.36%	23.65%
3	Fernhurst	74.43%	25.57%
4	Harbour Villages	73.99%	26.01%
5	Fittleworth	73.71%	26.29%
6	Sidlesham with Selsey North	73.59%	26.41%
7	The Witterings	72.45%	27.55%
8	Harting	71.64%	28.36%
9	Lavant	69.55%	30.45%
10	Southbourne	68.55%	31.46%
11	Westbourne (Chichester)	67.93%	32.07%
12	Easebourne	66.42%	33.58%
13	Chichester North	63.22%	36.78%
14	Chichester West	62.3%	37.7%
15	Midhurst	61.8%	38.2%
16	North Mundham & Tangmere	59.93%	40.07%
17	Goodwood	57.26%	42.74%
18	Petworth	53.98%	46.02%
19	Chichester South	52.16%	47.84%
20	Chichester Central	45.55%	54.45%
21	Chichester East	37.68%	62.32%

Kirdford is ranked 2 out of 21 wards in Chichester for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Kirdford and Chichester?

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

Ward	Population
Chichester Central	3035
Chichester East	7115
Chichester North	5512
Chichester South	6634
Chichester West	6897
Easebourne	2880
Fernhurst	6752
Fittleworth	3108
Goodwood	3266
Harbour Villages	11181
Harting	3637
Lavant	3345
Loxwood	7142
Midhurst	7294
North Mundham & Tangmere	7718
Petworth	3605
Selsey South	6107
Sidlesham with Selsey North	5802
Southbourne	7256
The Witterings	10003
Westbourne	3219
Chichester Total	121508

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