Socio-economic statistics for Plymouth,

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

Plymouth 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 Plymouth.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Plymouth	3.3%	-0.5%
South West	2.5%	-0.4%
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 Plymouth 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 Plymouth.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	61.53%
In Part-Time Work	27.36%
Unemployed	3.07%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

72.64% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Plymouth

Plymouth & Plymouth 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 Plymouth in the Plymouth local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Peverell	90.11%	9.89%
Plymouth	90.8%	9.2%
South West	89.8%	10.2%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Plymouth compared to other wards in Plymouth

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	St Peter and the Waterfront	77.74%	22.26%
2	Drake	80.99%	19.01%
3	Sutton and Mount Gould	84.85%	15.15%
4	Devonport	86.85%	13.15%
5	Stoke	88.11%	11.89%
6	Compton	89.9%	10.1%
7	Efford and Lipson	89.97%	10.03%
8	Peverell	90.11%	9.89%
9	Budshead	93.01%	6.99%
10	Ham	93.04%	6.96%
11	Moor View	93.24%	6.76%
12	Eggbuckland	93.87%	6.13%
13	St Budeaux	94.13%	5.87%
14	Southway	94.31%	5.69%
15	Honicknowle	94.7%	5.3%
16	Plymstock Radford	95.06%	4.94%
17	Plympton Chaddlewood	95.16%	4.84%
18	Plymstock Dunstone	95.42%	4.58%
19	Plympton Erle	96.33%	3.67%
20	Plympton St Mary	96.38%	3.62%

';Plymouth is ranked 8 out of 20 wards in Plymouth for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Plymouth and Plymouth

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Plymouth either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 75.21 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 24.79 of Plymouth residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Peverell	75.21%	24.79%
Plymouth	57.65%	42.35%
South West	65.88%	34.12%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Plymouth compared to other wards in Plymouth

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Plympton St Mary	84.16%	15.84%
2	Plymstock Dunstone	78.49%	21.51%
3	Plymstock Radford	77.47%	22.53%
4	Peverell	75.21%	24.79%
5	Plympton Erle	74.39%	25.61%
6	Eggbuckland	72.12%	27.88%
7	Plympton Chaddlewood	70.67%	29.33%
8	Moor View	67.01%	32.99%
9	Compton	66.47%	33.53%
10	Southway	59.84%	40.16%
11	Ham	57.16%	42.84%
12	Stoke (Plymouth)	55.88%	44.12%
13	Budshead	55.1%	44.9%
14	St Budeaux	52.63%	47.37%
15	Honicknowle	50.43%	49.57%
16	Efford and Lipson	50.31%	49.69%
17	Sutton and Mount Gould	45.5%	54.5%
18	Devonport	37.63%	62.37%
19	St Peter and the Waterfront	25.76%	74.24%
20	Drake	23.73%	76.27%

Plymouth is ranked 4 out of 20 wards in Plymouth for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Plymouth Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Plymouth Education Statistics

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

Level	Peverell	England
No Qualifications	11.42%	18.08%
Level 1	8.11%	9.69%
Level 2	12.95%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.47%	5.32%
Level 3	19.46%	16.92%
Level 4	39.54%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Plymouth Health Statistics

Peverell 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
Peverell	52.46%	32.55%	11.01%	3.03%	0.94%
Plymouth	45.76%	33.76%	14.05%	4.95%	1.47%
South West	47.6%	34.21%	13.12%	3.95%	1.12%
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 Plymouth changed since 2011?

Plymouth residents who describe their health as either good or very good has decreased by 0.03% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	46.02%	33.53%	13.95%	5.08%	1.44%
2021	45.76%	33.76%	14.05%	4.95%	1.47%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Plymouth?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	26.72%
Associate Professional & Technical	14.17%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	11.3%
Skilled Trades	10.52%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.27%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	9.09%
Elementary Occupations	6.29%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.87%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Plymouth and Plymouth?

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

Ward	Population
Budshead	12995
Compton	12542
Devonport	16743
Drake	11206
Efford and Lipson	14093
Eggbuckland	12863
Ham	14121
Honicknowle	13980
Moor View	12758
Peverell	13854
Plympton Chaddlewood	8105
Plympton Erle	8687
Plympton St Mary	12404
Plymstock Dunstone	12331
Plymstock Radford	13469
Southway	13645
St Budeaux	13308
St Peter and the Waterfront	17883
Stoke	13664
Sutton and Mount Gould	14188
Plymouth Total	262839

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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