Socio-economic statistics for Spen, Kirklees

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

Spen Health Statistics

Cleckheaton has a lower proportion of residents (very_good_pc-$ward_health->very_good_pc, 2)%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Cleckheaton	45.67%	35.39%	13.74%	4.07%	1.14%
Kirklees	46.56%	34.5%	13.39%	4.31%	1.24%
Yorkshire and The Humber	46.18%	34.31%	13.7%	4.49%	1.32%
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 Kirklees changed since 2011?

Kirklees residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.56% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	45.53%	34.97%	13.74%	4.5%	1.25%
2021	46.56%	34.5%	13.39%	4.31%	1.24%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Spen Education Statistics

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

Level	Cleckheaton	England
No Qualifications	19.42%	18.08%
Level 1	10.24%	9.69%
Level 2	14.57%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	7.51%	5.32%
Level 3	18.44%	16.92%
Level 4	27.36%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Spen Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

What are the occupations of the residents of Spen?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	17.21%
Associate Professional & Technical	13.33%
Skilled Trades	12.1%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	12.04%
Administrative & Secretarial	10.48%
Elementary Occupations	9.8%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	8.9%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	8.35%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Spen & Kirklees 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 Spen in the Kirklees local area district.

Spen has a lower rate of immigrants than Kirklees, the Yorkshire and The Humber region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Cleckheaton	94.87%	5.13%
Kirklees	87.42%	12.58%
Yorkshire and The Humber	88.65%	11.35%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Spen compared to other wards in Kirklees

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Greenhead	73.28%	26.72%
2	Dewsbury West	73.48%	26.52%
3	Batley East	76.37%	23.63%
4	Crosland Moor and Netherton	76.62%	23.38%
5	Newsome	77.36%	22.64%
6	Ashbrow	78.55%	21.45%
7	Dewsbury South	79.91%	20.09%
8	Batley West	83.67%	16.33%
9	Dalton	86.34%	13.66%
10	Heckmondwike	86.44%	13.56%
11	Dewsbury East	88.6%	11.4%
12	Lindley	89.68%	10.32%
13	Almondbury	92.42%	7.58%
14	Golcar	93.38%	6.62%
15	Cleckheaton	94.87%	5.13%
16	Liversedge and Gomersal	94.98%	5.02%
17	Birstall and Birkenshaw	95.61%	4.39%
18	Mirfield	95.66%	4.34%
19	Kirkburton	96.4%	3.6%
20	Holme Valley North	96.54%	3.46%
21	Holme Valley South	96.6%	3.4%
22	Colne Valley	96.92%	3.08%
23	Denby Dale	97.38%	2.62%

';Spen is ranked 15 out of 23 wards in Kirklees for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

How many residents own or rent their home in Spen and Kirklees

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Spen either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 66.3 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 33.7 of Spen residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Cleckheaton	66.3%	33.7%
Kirklees	65.51%	34.49%
Yorkshire and The Humber	62.58%	37.42%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Spen compared to other wards in Kirklees

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Kirkburton	81.14%	18.86%
2	Holme Valley South	79.23%	20.77%
3	Denby Dale	78.32%	21.68%
4	Holme Valley North	75.91%	24.09%
5	Colne Valley	74.05%	25.95%
6	Mirfield	73.93%	26.07%
7	Lindley	71.69%	28.31%
8	Almondbury	69.38%	30.62%
9	Birstall and Birkenshaw	69.27%	30.73%
10	Heckmondwike	68.52%	31.48%
11	Cleckheaton	66.3%	33.7%
12	Golcar	65.46%	34.54%
13	Liversedge and Gomersal	63.8%	36.2%
14	Dewsbury South	63.78%	36.22%
15	Crosland Moor and Netherton	60.87%	39.13%
16	Dewsbury East	60.36%	39.64%
17	Batley West	60.27%	39.73%
18	Dalton	59.71%	40.29%
19	Batley East	58.39%	41.61%
20	Ashbrow	57.12%	42.88%
21	Greenhead	54.02%	45.98%
22	Dewsbury West	53.59%	46.41%
23	Newsome	43.04%	56.96%

Spen is ranked 11 out of 23 wards in Kirklees for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Spen 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 Kirklees.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Kirklees	4.4%	-0.2%
Yorkshire and The Humber	4.2%	-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 Spen 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 Spen.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	58.7%
In Part-Time Work	25.28%
Unemployed	3.87%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

74.72% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Spen

What is the population of Spen and Kirklees?

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

Ward	Population
Almondbury	18075
Ashbrow	20572
Batley East	19351
Batley West	20735
Birstall and Birkenshaw	16906
Cleckheaton	17371
Colne Valley	17715
Crosland Moor and Netherton	19503
Dalton	17309
Denby Dale	16779
Dewsbury East	20130
Dewsbury South	19259
Dewsbury West	22505
Golcar	18240
Greenhead	21230
Heckmondwike	17363
Holme Valley North	17202
Holme Valley South	19432
Kirkburton	16407
Lindley	20822
Liversedge and Gomersal	20079
Mirfield	20043
Newsome	24262
Kirklees Total	441290

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024