Socio-economic statistics for The Forstal, Kent

Socio-economic statistics for The Forstal, Kent

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

How many residents own or rent their home in The Forstal and Ashford

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in The Forstal either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 71 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 29 of The Forstal residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.
AreaOwnedRented
Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry71%29%
Ashford66.43%33.57%
South East65.66%34.34%
England61.31%38.69%

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

The Forstal compared to other wards in Ashford

#WardOwnedRented
1Kennington (Ashford)87.74%12.26%
2Downs West85.8%14.2%
3Highfield (Ashford)83.1%16.9%
4Godinton80.29%19.71%
5Bircholt80.1%19.9%
6Biddenden79.16%20.84%
7Weald South78.84%21.16%
8Tenterden St Michael's78.42%21.58%
9Saxon Shore78.38%21.62%
10Park Farm North78.16%21.84%
11Kingsnorth Village & Bridgefield77.73%22.27%
12Weald North76.87%23.13%
13Downs North73.53%26.47%
14Bybrook73.11%26.89%
15Weald Central73.05%26.95%
16Roman (Ashford)71.89%28.12%
17Charing71.57%28.43%
18Isle of Oxney71.49%28.51%
19Rolvenden & Tenterden West71.09%28.91%
20Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry71%29%
21Willesborough70.54%29.46%
22Tenterden North70.45%29.55%
23Upper Weald69.52%30.48%
24Park Farm South68.05%31.95%
25Conningbrook & Little Burton Farm68.02%31.98%
26Singleton West66.84%33.16%
27Tenterden South66.51%33.49%
28Washford66.12%33.88%
29Singleton East65%35%
30Goat Lees63.27%36.73%
31Wye with Hinxhill63.17%36.83%
32Bockhanger59.8%40.2%
33Repton (Ashford)59.38%40.62%
34Furley59.38%40.62%
35Norman51.23%48.77%
36Beaver50.75%49.25%
37Aylesford & East Stour47%53%
38Victoria (Ashford)42.72%57.28%
39Stanhope35.62%64.38%
The Forstal is ranked 20 out of 39 wards in Ashford for the percentage of home owners.

The Forstal Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry.
Age BandProportion
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 Forstal Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education The Forstal 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 Forstal to the national average for England.
LevelMersham, Sevington South with FinberryEngland
No Qualifications10.78%18.08%
Level 110.59%9.69%
Level 214.29%13.32%
Apprenticeship4.2%5.32%
Level 319.22%16.92%
Level 438.98%33.92%

The Forstal 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 Ashford.
AreaUnemployedYearly Change
Ashford3%-0.5%
South East2.9%-0.3%
England3.8%-0.3%
UK3.7%-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 Forstal 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 Forstal.
Economic StatusProportion
In Employment68.68%
In Part-Time Work22.56%
Unemployed2.56%
77.44% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in The Forstal

The Forstal Health Statistics

Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry has significantly more residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.
AreaVGGFBVB
Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry58.37%30.53%8.87%1.75%0.48%
Ashford48.46%34.49%12.47%3.58%1.01%
South East49.98%34.01%11.77%3.31%0.93%
England48.49%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 Ashford changed since 2011?

Ashford residents who describe their health as either good or very good has increased by 0.28% between the 2011 and 2021 census.
YearVGGFBVB
201147.58%35.09%12.74%3.53%1.06%
202148.46%34.49%12.47%3.58%1.01%
VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

What are the occupations of the residents of The Forstal?

The largest employment sector in The Forstal is Managers, Directors & Senior Officials. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.
SectorProportion
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials21.36%
Professional Occupations21.09%
Associate Professional & Technical17.19%
Skilled Trades8.98%
Administrative & Secretarial8.91%
Caring, leisure & Other Services6.68%
Elementary Occupations4.59%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives4.45%

The Forstal & Ashford 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 Forstal in the Ashford local area district.

The Forstal has a lower rate of immigrants than Ashford, the South East region and England as a whole.
AreaBorn in UKBorn outside UK
Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry89%11%
Ashford86.59%13.41%
South East84.24%15.76%
England82.65%17.35%

The Forstal compared to other wards in Ashford

#WardBorn in UKBorn outside UK
1Victoria72.56%27.44%
2Beaver76.7%23.3%
3Stanhope77.64%22.36%
4Furley77.83%22.17%
5Repton79.05%20.95%
6Norman80.41%19.59%
7Aylesford & East Stour81.06%18.94%
8Godinton82.53%17.47%
9Conningbrook & Little Burton Farm82.84%17.16%
10Highfield85.04%14.96%
11Park Farm North85.16%14.84%
12Park Farm South85.91%14.09%
13Willesborough86.66%13.34%
14Goat Lees86.71%13.29%
15Singleton East87.22%12.78%
16Singleton West87.69%12.31%
17Roman87.74%12.26%
18Washford88.46%11.54%
19Bockhanger88.55%11.45%
20Bybrook88.92%11.08%
21Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry89%11%
22Wye with Hinxhill89.58%10.42%
23Kingsnorth Village & Bridgefield89.84%10.16%
24Downs North91.43%8.57%
25Kennington91.57%8.43%
26Tenterden North92.09%7.91%
27Downs West92.76%7.24%
28Biddenden93.53%6.47%
29Rolvenden & Tenterden West93.59%6.41%
30Saxon Shore93.65%6.35%
31Bircholt93.7%6.3%
32Tenterden South94%6%
33Upper Weald94.2%5.8%
34Isle of Oxney94.28%5.72%
35Weald South94.31%5.69%
36Weald North94.37%5.63%
37Weald Central94.75%5.25%
38Charing94.8%5.2%
39Tenterden St Michael's94.97%5.03%
';The Forstal is ranked 21 out of 39 wards in Ashford for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

What is the population of The Forstal and Ashford?

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

WardPopulation
Aylesford & East Stour6962
Beaver6975
Biddenden2600
Bircholt2849
Bockhanger3019
Bybrook3338
Charing2612
Conningbrook & Little Burton Farm1790
Downs North2579
Downs West2635
Furley6813
Goat Lees2587
Godinton4341
Highfield2461
Isle of Oxney2689
Kennington2272
Kingsnorth Village & Bridgefield2658
Mersham, Sevington South with Finberry2142
Norman3140
Park Farm North2610
Park Farm South2730
Repton2744
Rolvenden & Tenterden West2675
Roman2978
Saxon Shore2632
Singleton East2704
Singleton West3049
Stanhope3744
Tenterden North2134
Tenterden South2183
Tenterden St Michael's2673
Upper Weald2701
Victoria6399
Washford2884
Weald Central4939
Weald North2452
Weald South5354
Willesborough6371
Wye with Hinxhill2600
Ashford Total131018



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