Socio-economic statistics for The Downs, Surrey

Socio-economic statistics for The Downs, Surrey

We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics for The Downs in Waverley 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 The Downs older than the national average or younger? What is the population of The Downs and Waverley? Is The Downs an unemployment hotspot? This page should provide you with the answers.

The Downs Health Statistics

Chiddingfold and Dunsfold has significantly more residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.
Area VG G F B VB
Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 57.03% 30.52% 9.88% 1.92% 0.64%
Waverley 54.65% 32.1% 10.05% 2.52% 0.68%
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

How has the health of residents in Waverley changed since 2011?

Waverley residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.51% between the 2011 and 2021 census.
Year VG G F B VB
2011 53.52% 32.72% 10.5% 2.53% 0.72%
2021 54.65% 32.1% 10.05% 2.52% 0.68%
VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

What are the occupations of the residents of The Downs?

The largest employment sector in The Downs is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.
Sector Proportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials 25.72%
Professional Occupations 21.53%
Associate Professional & Technical 14.86%
Skilled Trades 11.42%
Administrative & Secretarial 8.49%
Caring, leisure & Other Services 7.53%
Elementary Occupations 5.36%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives 1.82%

The Downs 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 Waverley.
Area Unemployed Yearly Change
Waverley 1.7% -0.1%
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 The Downs 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 The Downs.
Economic Status Proportion
In Employment 59.58%
In Part-Time Work 31%
Unemployed 3.1%
69% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in The Downs

The Downs & Waverley 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 The Downs in the Waverley local area district.

The Downs has a lower rate of immigrants than Waverley, the South East region and England as a whole.
Area Born in UK Born outside UK
Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 89.7% 10.3%
Waverley 87.26% 12.74%
South East 84.24% 15.76%
England 82.65% 17.35%

The Downs compared to other wards in Waverley

# Ward Born in UK Born outside UK
1 Godalming Charterhouse 83.14% 16.86%
2 Farnham Castle 83.33% 16.67%
3 Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe 83.88% 16.12%
4 Godalming Central and Ockford 84.63% 15.37%
5 Farnham Moor Park 84.97% 15.03%
6 Haslemere Critchmere and Shottermill 85.22% 14.78%
7 Godalming Farncombe and Catteshall 85.47% 14.53%
8 Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford 85.66% 14.34%
9 Hindhead 86.15% 13.85%
10 Haslemere East and Grayswood 86.2% 13.8%
11 Farnham Firgrove 87.08% 12.92%
12 Farnham Upper Hale 87.31% 12.69%
13 Blackheath and Wonersh 87.31% 12.69%
14 Farnham Bourne 87.47% 12.53%
15 Cranleigh West 87.5% 12.5%
16 Godalming Holloway 87.94% 12.06%
17 Farnham Wrecclesham and Rowledge 88.07% 11.93%
18 Witley and Hambledon 88.43% 11.58%
19 Farnham Shortheath and Boundstone 88.45% 11.55%
20 Ewhurst 88.46% 11.54%
21 Shamley Green and Cranleigh North 88.47% 11.53%
22 Farnham Hale and Heath End 88.78% 11.22%
23 Elstead and Thursley 89.2% 10.8%
24 Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 89.7% 10.3%
25 Godalming Binscombe 90% 10%
26 Cranleigh East 90.35% 9.65%
27 Milford 90.52% 9.48%
28 Farnham Weybourne and Badshot Lea 90.67% 9.33%
29 Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellens Green 92.13% 7.87%
'; The Downs is ranked 24 out of 29 wards in Waverley for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

How many residents own or rent their home in The Downs and Waverley

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in The Downs either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 74.43 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 25.57 of The Downs residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.
Area Owned Rented
Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 74.43% 25.57%
Waverley 71.76% 28.24%
South East 65.66% 34.34%
England 61.31% 38.69%

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

The Downs compared to other wards in Waverley

# Ward Owned Rented
1 Farnham Bourne 88.02% 11.98%
2 Godalming Holloway 86.73% 13.27%
3 Blackheath and Wonersh 84.38% 15.62%
4 Farnham Hale and Heath End 80.56% 19.44%
5 Ewhurst 79.09% 20.91%
6 Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford 77.21% 22.79%
7 Hindhead 76.85% 23.15%
8 Elstead and Thursley 75.78% 24.22%
9 Shamley Green and Cranleigh North 75.61% 24.39%
10 Farnham Weybourne and Badshot Lea 75.48% 24.52%
11 Witley and Hambledon 74.67% 25.33%
12 Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 74.43% 25.57%
13 Farnham Shortheath and Boundstone 74.32% 25.68%
14 Farnham Wrecclesham and Rowledge 74.23% 25.77%
15 Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellens Green 74.11% 25.89%
16 Cranleigh East 72.99% 27.01%
17 Farnham Upper Hale 72.13% 27.87%
18 Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe 71.89% 28.11%
19 Haslemere East and Grayswood 71.8% 28.2%
20 Milford (Waverley) 71.58% 28.42%
21 Cranleigh West 69.68% 30.32%
22 Farnham Firgrove 69.51% 30.49%
23 Godalming Charterhouse 68.85% 31.15%
24 Haslemere Critchmere and Shottermill 67.66% 32.34%
25 Farnham Moor Park 63.09% 36.91%
26 Godalming Farncombe and Catteshall 63.04% 36.96%
27 Godalming Central and Ockford 59.93% 40.07%
28 Godalming Binscombe 59.91% 40.09%
29 Farnham Castle 56.72% 43.28%
The Downs is ranked 12 out of 29 wards in Waverley for the percentage of home owners.

The Downs Age Distribution Statistics

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

The Downs Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education The Downs 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 The Downs to the national average for England.
Level Chiddingfold and Dunsfold England
No Qualifications 10.1% 18.08%
Level 1 6.93% 9.69%
Level 2 12.84% 13.32%
Apprenticeship 3.14% 5.32%
Level 3 16.94% 16.92%
Level 4 48.01% 33.92%

What is the population of The Downs and Waverley?

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

Ward Population
Alfold, Cranleigh Rural and Ellens Green 1880
Blackheath and Wonersh 1806
Bramley, Busbridge and Hascombe 5166
Chiddingfold and Dunsfold 4059
Cranleigh East 6700
Cranleigh West 4975
Elstead and Thursley 3968
Ewhurst 2309
Farnham Bourne 4446
Farnham Castle 4758
Farnham Firgrove 4692
Farnham Hale and Heath End 4407
Farnham Moor Park 5287
Farnham Shortheath and Boundstone 4220
Farnham Upper Hale 4071
Farnham Weybourne and Badshot Lea 4432
Farnham Wrecclesham and Rowledge 4784
Frensham, Dockenfield and Tilford 4211
Godalming Binscombe 4049
Godalming Central and Ockford 5048
Godalming Charterhouse 4168
Godalming Farncombe and Catteshall 5022
Godalming Holloway 4456
Haslemere Critchmere and Shottermill 6213
Haslemere East and Grayswood 6693
Hindhead 4561
Milford 4158
Shamley Green and Cranleigh North 1840
Witley and Hambledon 4177
Waverley Total 126556



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

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