Socio-economic statistics for Rustington, West Sussex

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

Rustington & 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 Rustington in the Arun local area district.

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

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Rustington West	93.78%	6.22%
Arun	89.28%	10.72%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rustington 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%

';Rustington is ranked 22 out of 23 wards in Arun for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Rustington Education Statistics

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

Level	Rustington West	England
No Qualifications	19.7%	18.08%
Level 1	11.8%	9.69%
Level 2	16%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.36%	5.32%
Level 3	16.73%	16.92%
Level 4	25.22%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Rustington either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 80.64 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 19.36 of Rustington residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Rustington West	80.64%	19.36%
Arun	71.25%	28.75%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Rustington 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%

Rustington is ranked 6 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 Rustington?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	14.26%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	13.91%
Skilled Trades	12.96%
Associate Professional & Technical	12.52%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	11.93%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.22%
Elementary Occupations	9.63%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	5.77%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Rustington Health Statistics

Rustington West 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
Rustington West	40.33%	37.44%	16.61%	4.75%	0.88%
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)

Rustington Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Rustington 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 Rustington 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 Rustington.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	45.6%
In Part-Time Work	33.17%
Unemployed	4.07%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

66.83% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Rustington

What is the population of Rustington and Arun?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Arun including Rustington. 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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