Socio-economic statistics for Shefford, Bedfordshire

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

What are the occupations of the residents of Shefford?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	20.38%
Associate Professional & Technical	18.63%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	14.6%
Administrative & Secretarial	11.59%
Skilled Trades	10.22%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	8.15%
Elementary Occupations	6.71%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	4.6%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Shefford 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 Central Bedfordshire.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Central Bedfordshire	2.2%	-0.2%
East of England	3%	-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 Shefford 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 Shefford.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	66.19%
In Part-Time Work	22.98%
Unemployed	2.74%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

77.02% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Shefford

Shefford Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Shefford & Central Bedfordshire 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 Shefford in the Central Bedfordshire local area district.

Shefford has a lower rate of immigrants than Central Bedfordshire, the East of England region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Shefford	93.37%	6.63%
Central Bedfordshire	88.96%	11.04%
East	85.09%	14.91%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Shefford compared to other wards in Central Bedfordshire

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Parkside	72.94%	27.06%
2	Dunstable-Icknield	75.18%	24.82%
3	Tithe Farm	79.37%	20.63%
4	Houghton Hall	79.4%	20.6%
5	Dunstable-Central	80.46%	19.54%
6	Dunstable-Northfields	80.57%	19.43%
7	Dunstable-Manshead	81.35%	18.65%
8	Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	84.34%	15.66%
9	Dunstable-Watling	87.13%	12.87%
10	Leighton Buzzard South	89.22%	10.78%
11	Biggleswade South	90.28%	9.72%
12	Aspley and Woburn	90.5%	9.5%
13	Linslade	90.6%	9.4%
14	Houghton Conquest and Haynes	90.61%	9.39%
15	Toddington	90.61%	9.39%
16	Leighton Buzzard North	90.86%	9.14%
17	Caddington	90.92%	9.08%
18	Biggleswade North	91.08%	8.92%
19	Heath and Reach	91.17%	8.83%
20	Arlesey	91.95%	8.05%
21	Flitwick	91.99%	8.01%
22	Sandy	92.36%	7.64%
23	Stotfold and Langford	92.7%	7.3%
24	Eaton Bray	93.31%	6.69%
25	Shefford	93.37%	6.63%
26	Silsoe and Shillington	93.45%	6.55%
27	Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	93.53%	6.47%
28	Barton-le-Clay	93.66%	6.34%
29	Potton	93.82%	6.18%
30	Northill	93.83%	6.17%
31	Ampthill	94.19%	5.81%

';Shefford is ranked 25 out of 31 wards in Central Bedfordshire for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Shefford Education Statistics

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

Level	Shefford	England
No Qualifications	11.85%	18.08%
Level 1	9.6%	9.69%
Level 2	15.25%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	5.98%	5.32%
Level 3	20.77%	16.92%
Level 4	34.59%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Shefford and Central Bedfordshire

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Shefford either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 69.05 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 30.95 of Shefford residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Shefford	69.05%	30.95%
Central Bedfordshire	71.16%	28.84%
East	65.23%	34.77%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Shefford has a higher level of home ownership than than the national average.

Shefford compared to other wards in Central Bedfordshire

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	82.28%	17.72%
2	Barton-le-Clay	82.24%	17.76%
3	Heath and Reach	79.35%	20.65%
4	Caddington	79.3%	20.7%
5	Dunstable-Watling	78.86%	21.14%
6	Eaton Bray	77.96%	22.04%
7	Ampthill	76.67%	23.33%
8	Stotfold and Langford	76.3%	23.7%
9	Toddington	75.56%	24.44%
10	Houghton Conquest and Haynes	75%	25%
11	Dunstable-Icknield	74.55%	25.45%
12	Linslade	73.56%	26.44%
13	Flitwick	73.15%	26.85%
14	Silsoe and Shillington	72.5%	27.5%
15	Potton	72.06%	27.94%
16	Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	71.55%	28.45%
17	Arlesey	70.79%	29.21%
18	Leighton Buzzard South	69.7%	30.3%
19	Biggleswade South	69.33%	30.67%
20	Northill	69.19%	30.81%
21	Shefford	69.05%	30.95%
22	Leighton Buzzard North	69.04%	30.96%
23	Sandy	67.25%	32.75%
24	Aspley and Woburn	66.73%	33.27%
25	Biggleswade North	66.5%	33.5%
26	Houghton Hall	63.22%	36.78%
27	Dunstable-Central	62.09%	37.91%
28	Dunstable-Northfields	61.74%	38.26%
29	Dunstable-Manshead	59.67%	40.33%
30	Tithe Farm	59.08%	40.92%
31	Parkside (Central Bedfordshire)	54.63%	45.37%

Shefford is ranked 21 out of 31 wards in Central Bedfordshire for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Shefford Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Shefford	54.11%	31.96%	10.92%	2.4%	0.61%
Central Bedfordshire	50.37%	34.49%	11.33%	3%	0.82%
East	48.28%	34.64%	12.5%	3.58%	1%
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 Central Bedfordshire changed since 2011?

Central Bedfordshire residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.19% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	49.15%	35.52%	11.48%	3.02%	0.84%
2021	50.37%	34.49%	11.33%	3%	0.82%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Shefford and Central Bedfordshire?

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

Ward	Population
Ampthill	13872
Arlesey	16547
Aspley and Woburn	4872
Barton-le-Clay	4972
Biggleswade North	10433
Biggleswade South	11715
Caddington	10001
Cranfield and Marston Moretaine	16524
Dunstable-Central	5809
Dunstable-Icknield	9056
Dunstable-Manshead	5747
Dunstable-Northfields	11011
Dunstable-Watling	9456
Eaton Bray	4561
Flitwick	14033
Heath and Reach	4550
Houghton Conquest and Haynes	3337
Houghton Hall	9272
Leighton Buzzard North	15352
Leighton Buzzard South	15621
Linslade	12230
Northill	4511
Parkside	5437
Potton	8476
Sandy	13814
Shefford	10757
Silsoe and Shillington	5917
Stotfold and Langford	16427
Tithe Farm	5064
Toddington	9922
Westoning, Flitton and Greenfield	4800
Central Bedfordshire Total	294096

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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