If you are thinking of moving to Meerhay or just want to know a what the area is like, the statistics on this page should give you a good introduction. They cover a range of socio-economic factors so you can compare Meerhay to figures for Dorset and nationally. These statistics can tell you if Meerhay is an economically deprived area and how hard it might be to get a job.
Meerhay Property Ownership & Rental Statistics
| Tenure | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owned | 44.1% | 43% | 30.6% |
| Mortgage | 25.4% | 29.1% | 32.8% |
| Shared | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.8% |
| Social Rented (Council) | 0.8% | 1.6% | 9.4% |
| Social Rented (Housing Assoc) | 13% | 10.8% | 8.3% |
| Private Rented | 12.2% | 11.6% | 15.4% |
| Other | 1.5% | 1.8% | 1.4% |
| Rent Free | 2.1% | 1.6% | 1.3% |
Meerhay General Health Statistics
The respondents of the 2011 Census were asked to rate their health. These are the results for Meerhay. The percentage of residents in Meerhay rating their health as 'very good' is less than the national average.
| Health | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Good | 44.40% | 44.65% | 47.17% |
| Good | 35.90% | 35.88% | 34.22% |
| Fair | 14.71% | 14.45% | 13.12% |
| Bad | 3.91% | 3.94% | 4.25% |
| Very Bad | 1.08% | 1.08% | 1.25% |
Meerhay Immigration Statistics
These figures for Country of Birth for the residents of Meerhay are from the UK Census of 2011. Since Meerhay has a higher level of residents born in the UK than the national average and a lower rate of residents either born in other EU countries or outside the EU, it does not have a significant immigrant population.
| Country | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 94.4% | 94.4% | 86.2% |
| Rebublic of Ireland | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.7% |
| Other EU Countries | 1.7% | 2% | 3.7% |
| Outside the EU | 3.4% | 3.1% | 9.4% |
Meerhay Benefits & Unemployment Statistics
After the introduction of Universal Credit, the government no longer publishes unemployment figures as a percentage of the working population and has no further plans to do so. They do however publish the number of Universal Credit claimants in every local district council. We have taken the LDC that includes Meerhay and compared it to the nearest councils. Please be aware that Universal Credit is a in and out of work benefit. Therefore these figures are an indicator of BOTH unemployment and underemployment. Meerhay is in the local authority with the lowest number of Universal Credit claimants in the area.Meerhay is in the local authority with the highest number of Universal Credit claimants in the area.
These figures below on the claiming of legacy benefits in Meerhay are dated . They are the last published statistics of unemployment rates as a percentage of the population. Althpugh outdated, these statistics can often be a good indicator of the prosperity of the town and how hard it could be to get employment in the area.The rate of unemployment in Meerhay is both lower than the average for Dorset and lower than the national average, suggesting that finding a job in this area maybe easier than most places. The rate of claiming any benefit (which includes in work benefits) is more than 10% lower in Meerhay than the national average, suggesting higher salaries than the average in the area.
| Benefit | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jobseekers Allowance (only) | 1% | 1.4% | 3.3% |
| Incapacity Benefits (IB or ESA) | 1.8% | 1.9% | 2.4% |
| Any Benefit (includes in work benefits) | 9.5% | 10.1% | 13.5% |
Meerhay Age Distribution Statistics
The population of Meerhay as a whole, is older than the national average. The population of Meerhay is also older than the Dorset average, making Meerhay a older persons location.
| Age | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 0 to 4 | 4.4% | 4.7% | 6.3% |
| Age 5 to 9 | 4.6% | 4.8% | 5.6% |
| Age 10 to14 | 5.6% | 5.6% | 5.8% |
| Age 15 to 17 | 3.9% | 3.7% | 3.7% |
| Age 18 to 24 | 6.3% | 6.8% | 9.4% |
| Age 25 to 29 | 3.6% | 4.1% | 6.9% |
| Age 30 to 44 | 15.3% | 16.2% | 20.6% |
| Age 45 to 59 | 21.4% | 20.8% | 19.4% |
| Age 60 to 64 | 8.4% | 8% | 6% |
| Age 65 to 74 | 13.2% | 12.6% | 8.6% |
| Age 75 to 84 | 9.1% | 8.7% | 5.5% |
| Age 85 and over | 4.1% | 3.9% | 2.3% |
| Mean Age | 46.2 | 45.2 | 39.3 |
| Median Age | 49 | 47 | 39 |
Meerhay Social Grade & Occcupation Statistics
Social grade is a classification based on occupation and it enables a household and all its members to be classified according to the job of the main income earner.
| Grade | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| AB | 24.76% | 23.54% | 22.96% |
| C1 | 29.45% | 30.37% | 30.92% |
| C2 | 24.94% | 25.04% | 20.64% |
| DE | 20.86% | 21.05% | 25.49% |
Meerhay Education Statistics
These statistics are for the highest level education obtained by the residents of Meerhay and are from the UK Census of 2011. Meerhay has a lower level of residents with either no qualifications or qualifications equal to 1 or more GCSE at grade D or below, than the national average. Meerhay also has a high level of residents with a higher education qualification (level 4) than the national average, suggesting that the residents of Meerhay are better educated than the average England citizen.
| Qualification | West Dorset | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Qualifications | 20.1% | 21.3% | 22.5% |
| Level 1 | 12.6% | 13.7% | 13.3% |
| Level 2 | 16.5% | 16.9% | 15.2% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.4% | 4.8% | 3.6% |
| Level 3 | 11.8% | 12.1% | 12.4% |
| Level 4 | 30.8% | 27% | 27.4% |
| Other | 3.9% | 4.3% | 5.7% |
Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.
