Socio-economic statistics for Lower Ratley, Hampshire

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

Lower Ratley Education Statistics

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

Level	Blackwater	England
No Qualifications	12.81%	18.08%
Level 1	7.62%	9.69%
Level 2	13.41%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.15%	5.32%
Level 3	15.47%	16.92%
Level 4	43.5%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Ratley Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Lower Ratley 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 Test Valley.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Test Valley	1.9%	-0.1%
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 Lower Ratley 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 Lower Ratley.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	54.55%
In Part-Time Work	31.88%
Unemployed	1.94%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

68.12% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Lower Ratley

Lower Ratley Health Statistics

Blackwater 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
Blackwater	52.33%	33.3%	11.09%	2.49%	0.79%
Test Valley	50.34%	34.36%	11.44%	3.03%	0.82%
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 Test Valley changed since 2011?

Test Valley residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.09% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	50.02%	34.59%	11.62%	2.97%	0.8%
2021	50.34%	34.36%	11.44%	3.03%	0.82%

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 Lower Ratley and Test Valley

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Lower Ratley either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 80.78 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 19.22 of Lower Ratley residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Blackwater	80.78%	19.22%
Test Valley	68.94%	31.06%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Lower Ratley compared to other wards in Test Valley

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Ampfield & Braishfield	82.95%	17.05%
2	Valley Park	82.33%	17.67%
3	Chilworth, Nursling & Rownhams	81.15%	18.85%
4	Blackwater	80.78%	19.22%
5	Charlton & the Pentons	78.91%	21.09%
6	Romsey Tadburn	77.83%	22.17%
7	North Baddesley	76.64%	23.36%
8	Anna	76.33%	23.67%
9	Romsey Cupernham	73.73%	26.27%
10	Andover Winton	71.21%	28.79%
11	Harewood (Test Valley)	70.46%	29.54%
12	Bellinger	68.51%	31.49%
13	Andover Millway	68.42%	31.58%
14	Romsey Abbey	63.54%	36.46%
15	Mid Test	63.41%	36.59%
16	Andover Harroway	61.91%	38.09%
17	Bourne Valley	59.88%	40.12%
18	Andover Downlands	59.62%	40.38%
19	Andover Romans	55.36%	44.64%
20	Andover St Mary's	51.02%	48.98%

Lower Ratley is ranked 4 out of 20 wards in Test Valley for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Ratley & Test Valley 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 Lower Ratley in the Test Valley local area district.

Lower Ratley has a lower rate of immigrants than Test Valley, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Blackwater	93.67%	6.33%
Test Valley	88.88%	11.12%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Lower Ratley compared to other wards in Test Valley

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Andover Romans	81.77%	18.23%
2	Andover St Mary's	83.86%	16.14%
3	Valley Park	85%	15%
4	Andover Millway	85.83%	14.17%
5	Andover Harroway	86.34%	13.66%
6	Andover Downlands	86.65%	13.35%
7	Andover Winton	88.08%	11.92%
8	Chilworth, Nursling & Rownhams	88.71%	11.29%
9	Bourne Valley	90.58%	9.42%
10	Ampfield & Braishfield	90.84%	9.16%
11	Harewood	90.9%	9.1%
12	Bellinger	91.38%	8.62%
13	Anna	91.74%	8.26%
14	Mid Test	92.01%	7.99%
15	Romsey Abbey	92.19%	7.81%
16	North Baddesley	92.27%	7.73%
17	Romsey Cupernham	92.46%	7.54%
18	Charlton & the Pentons	92.54%	7.46%
19	Romsey Tadburn	92.73%	7.27%
20	Blackwater	93.67%	6.33%

';Lower Ratley is ranked 20 out of 20 wards in Test Valley for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Lower Ratley?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	24.88%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	23.55%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.02%
Skilled Trades	10.3%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.21%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	6.86%
Elementary Occupations	5.23%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	3.68%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Lower Ratley and Test Valley?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Test Valley including Lower Ratley. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Ampfield & Braishfield	2355
Andover Downlands	3214
Andover Harroway	10551
Andover Millway	9355
Andover Romans	8435
Andover St Mary's	9974
Andover Winton	6821
Anna	6585
Bellinger	3184
Blackwater	6379
Bourne Valley	4107
Charlton & the Pentons	3277
Chilworth, Nursling & Rownhams	7248
Harewood	3342
Mid Test	9155
North Baddesley	7359
Romsey Abbey	5409
Romsey Cupernham	8140
Romsey Tadburn	5672
Valley Park	6601
Test Valley Total	127163

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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