Socio-economic statistics for Watchfield, Oxfordshire

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

Watchfield Age Distribution Statistics

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

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)

Watchfield & Vale of White Horse 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 Watchfield in the Vale of White Horse local area district.

Watchfield has a lower rate of immigrants than Vale of White Horse, the South East region and England as a whole.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Watchfield & Shrivenham	88.9%	11.1%
Vale of White Horse	85.84%	14.16%
South East	84.24%	15.76%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Watchfield compared to other wards in Vale of White Horse

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Botley & Sunningwell	74.05%	25.95%
2	Marcham	77.28%	22.72%
3	Cumnor	78%	22%
4	Abingdon Abbey Northcourt	79.36%	20.64%
5	Wootton	82.56%	17.44%
6	Abingdon Caldecott	83.28%	16.72%
7	Abingdon Fitzharris	84.09%	15.91%
8	Abingdon Dunmore	84.54%	15.46%
9	Abingdon Peachcroft	84.99%	15.01%
10	Kennington & Radley	85.27%	14.73%
11	Blewbury & Harwell	86.32%	13.68%
12	Sutton Courtenay	87.66%	12.34%
13	Watchfield & Shrivenham	88.9%	11.1%
14	Faringdon	88.99%	11.01%
15	Wantage Charlton	89.43%	10.57%
16	Hendreds	89.44%	10.56%
17	Wantage & Grove Brook	89.71%	10.29%
18	Thames	89.78%	10.22%
19	Ridgeway	90.79%	9.21%
20	Drayton	90.8%	9.2%
21	Grove North	90.9%	9.1%
22	Steventon & the Hanneys	91.51%	8.49%
23	Stanford	92.25%	7.75%

';Watchfield is ranked 13 out of 23 wards in Vale of White Horse for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Watchfield 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 Vale of White Horse.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Vale of White Horse	2.1%	0%
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 Watchfield 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 Watchfield.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	62.93%
In Part-Time Work	24.82%
Unemployed	2.42%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

75.18% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Watchfield

How many residents own or rent their home in Watchfield and Vale of White Horse

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Watchfield either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 59.12 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 40.89 of Watchfield residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Watchfield & Shrivenham	59.12%	40.89%
Vale of White Horse	68.19%	31.81%
South East	65.66%	34.34%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Watchfield has a lower level of home ownership than than the national average.

Watchfield compared to other wards in Vale of White Horse

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	Abingdon Dunmore	79.3%	20.7%
2	Abingdon Peachcroft	78.11%	21.9%
3	Kennington & Radley	77.67%	22.33%
4	Cumnor	75.8%	24.2%
5	Thames (Vale of White Horse)	75.63%	24.37%
6	Drayton	73.36%	26.64%
7	Ridgeway (Vale of White Horse)	73.12%	26.88%
8	Steventon & the Hanneys	72.13%	27.87%
9	Grove North	72.08%	27.92%
10	Sutton Courtenay	71.74%	28.26%
11	Blewbury & Harwell	71.54%	28.46%
12	Stanford	71.49%	28.51%
13	Wootton (Vale of White Horse)	70.9%	29.1%
14	Wantage & Grove Brook	69.77%	30.23%
15	Botley & Sunningwell	68.14%	31.86%
16	Abingdon Fitzharris	66.67%	33.33%
17	Wantage Charlton	64.33%	35.67%
18	Hendreds	62.33%	37.67%
19	Faringdon	61.72%	38.28%
20	Watchfield & Shrivenham	59.12%	40.89%
21	Marcham	55.99%	44.01%
22	Abingdon Caldecott	54.61%	45.39%
23	Abingdon Abbey Northcourt	52.54%	47.46%

Watchfield is ranked 20 out of 23 wards in Vale of White Horse for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Watchfield Health Statistics

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

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Watchfield & Shrivenham	55.71%	31.81%	9.57%	2.37%	0.54%
Vale of White Horse	52.35%	33.62%	10.79%	2.58%	0.66%
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 Vale of White Horse changed since 2011?

Vale of White Horse residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.14% between the 2011 and 2021 census.

Year	VG	G	F	B	VB
2011	51.85%	33.98%	10.8%	2.61%	0.75%
2021	52.35%	33.62%	10.79%	2.58%	0.66%

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

Source: Census 2011/2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Watchfield Education Statistics

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

Level	Watchfield & Shrivenham	England
No Qualifications	9.77%	18.08%
Level 1	8.18%	9.69%
Level 2	13.01%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	4.25%	5.32%
Level 3	16.21%	16.92%
Level 4	46.54%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What are the occupations of the residents of Watchfield?

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

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	21.99%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	21.67%
Associate Professional & Technical	15.93%
Skilled Trades	9.49%
Administrative & Secretarial	9.12%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	7.28%
Elementary Occupations	6.62%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	3.75%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

What is the population of Watchfield and Vale of White Horse?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Vale of White Horse including Watchfield. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Abingdon Abbey Northcourt	6829
Abingdon Caldecott	8123
Abingdon Dunmore	6192
Abingdon Fitzharris	6462
Abingdon Peachcroft	6963
Blewbury & Harwell	8671
Botley & Sunningwell	6928
Cumnor	6743
Drayton	3637
Faringdon	7915
Grove North	6356
Hendreds	3174
Kennington & Radley	7018
Kingston Bagpuize	4470
Marcham	4850
Ridgeway	3068
Stanford	3813
Steventon & the Hanneys	4132
Sutton Courtenay	3312
Thames	3221
Wantage & Grove Brook	6751
Wantage Charlton	7075
Watchfield & Shrivenham	8723
Wootton	3484
Vale of White Horse Total	137910

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

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

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