Socio-economic statistics for Littlehampton, West Sussex

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

Littlehampton 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 Arun.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Arun	3.2%	-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 Littlehampton 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 Littlehampton.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.81%
In Part-Time Work	29.13%
Unemployed	5.75%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

70.87% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Littlehampton

Littlehampton Education Statistics

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

Level	River	England
No Qualifications	23.56%	18.08%
Level 1	12.18%	9.69%
Level 2	15.25%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.39%	5.32%
Level 3	16.32%	16.92%
Level 4	22.63%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Littlehampton Health Statistics

River 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
River (Arun)	38.84%	37.11%	17.2%	5.56%	1.29%
Arun	43.19%	36.57%	14.81%	4.31%	1.12%
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 Arun changed since 2011?

Arun residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 1.01% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	41.98%	36.77%	15.58%	4.42%	1.25%
2021	43.19%	36.57%	14.81%	4.31%	1.12%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Littlehampton Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Littlehampton & Arun 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 Littlehampton in the Arun local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
River (Arun)	83.88%	16.12%
Arun	89.28%	10.72%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Littlehampton compared to other wards in Arun

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Marine	71.79%	28.21%
2	Hotham	78.15%	21.85%
3	Orchard	78.82%	21.18%
4	River	83.88%	16.12%
5	Pevensey	83.92%	16.08%
6	Bersted	86.68%	13.32%
7	Courtwick with Toddington	88.34%	11.66%
8	Aldwick East	90.62%	9.38%
9	Beach	91.07%	8.93%
10	Arundel & Walberton	91.35%	8.65%
11	Rustington East	92.3%	7.7%
12	Felpham West	92.5%	7.5%
13	Yapton	92.65%	7.35%
14	Brookfield	92.68%	7.32%
15	Ferring	92.85%	7.15%
16	Barnham	92.9%	7.1%
17	Pagham	93.18%	6.82%
18	Aldwick West	93.25%	6.75%
19	Middleton-on-Sea	93.49%	6.51%
20	East Preston	93.56%	6.44%
21	Angmering & Findon	93.58%	6.42%
22	Rustington West	93.78%	6.22%
23	Felpham East	94.47%	5.53%

';Littlehampton is ranked 4 out of 23 wards in Arun for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Littlehampton and Arun

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Littlehampton either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 52.29 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 47.71 of Littlehampton residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
River (Arun)	52.29%	47.71%
Arun	71.25%	28.75%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Littlehampton compared to other wards in Arun

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Pagham	87.03%	12.97%
2	Aldwick East	86.84%	13.16%
3	Ferring	86.49%	13.51%
4	Felpham East	83.2%	16.8%
5	East Preston	81.34%	18.66%
6	Rustington West	80.64%	19.36%
7	Middleton-on-Sea	80.25%	19.75%
8	Aldwick West	79.81%	20.19%
9	Angmering & Findon	78.79%	21.21%
10	Felpham West	78.44%	21.56%
11	Barnham	77.89%	22.11%
12	Yapton	75.27%	24.73%
13	Arundel & Walberton	74.38%	25.62%
14	Rustington East	74.33%	25.67%
15	Beach	72.86%	27.14%
16	Brookfield (Arun)	69.74%	30.26%
17	Bersted	68.84%	31.16%
18	Courtwick with Toddington	59.39%	40.61%
19	Orchard	58.71%	41.29%
20	Pevensey	53.52%	46.48%
21	River (Arun)	52.29%	47.71%
22	Hotham	48.64%	51.36%
23	Marine (Arun)	42.61%	57.39%

Littlehampton is ranked 21 out of 23 wards in Arun for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Littlehampton?

The largest employment sector in Littlehampton is Caring, leisure & Other Services. The smallest employment sector is Administrative & Secretarial.

Sector	Proportion
Caring, leisure & Other Services	14.74%
Elementary Occupations	14.3%
Skilled Trades	13.34%
Professional Occupations	10.9%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.11%
Associate Professional & Technical	10.08%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	9.87%
Administrative & Secretarial	7.63%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Littlehampton and Arun?

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

Ward	Population
Aldwick East	5253
Aldwick West	6355
Angmering & Findon	9430
Arundel & Walberton	8106
Barnham	8755
Beach	4627
Bersted	9756
Brookfield	6195
Courtwick with Toddington	10602
East Preston	8547
Felpham East	7192
Felpham West	4464
Ferring	4592
Hotham	6905
Marine	7533
Middleton-on-Sea	4945
Orchard	6913
Pagham	6027
Pevensey	5743
River	9265
Rustington East	5324
Rustington West	8093
Yapton	6501
Arun Total	161123

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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