Old Town ward profile

10,811 people live in Old Town, or 4.7% of Barnsley’s total population. Just over two thirds of residents are of working age, over 2% more than the borough average and almost 4% more than the national average. 15.3% are of pensionable age, slightly fewer than the borough and national averages.

96.3% of the population is white, and just over 94% were born in the UK. The largest minority group compromises Asian and Asian British people, who make up 1.7% of the population.

Just over 68% of residents have a religion, which is in line with the national average but slightly below the borough average. The vast majority are Christian. Muslims are the largest minority group, but make up only 1.2% of the total. 2.5% of households contain nobody whose main language is English; almost double the borough average but significantly fewer than the national average of 4.4%.

Household information

One third of adult residents in Old Town are single, slightly more than the borough average but slightly less than the national average. Just below 47% are married, which is in line with the national average but slightly below the borough average.

69.3% of homes are privately owned, 5% more than the borough average and 6% more than the national average. 14.3% of households live in social rented accommodation, compared to a national average of 17.7% and a borough average of 20.9%. 14.5% of households rent from private landlords, slightly more than the borough average of 12.8% but slightly fewer than the national average of 16.8%. Over 98% of homes are centrally heated but one quarter does not have access to a car or van, though this is slightly fewer than the national and borough averages.

Health

79.4% of the population describe their health as ‘very good’ or ‘good’, compared to a borough average of 75.2% and a national average of 81.4%. On the other hand 6% feel their health is ‘bad’ or ‘very bad’, which is slightly more than the national average but significantly fewer than the borough average of 8.4%. 2.7% of residents provide care for 50 hours or more each week, compared to a national average of 2.4% and a borough average of 3.3%.

Education and work

25.4% of the population has no educational qualifications, which is higher than the national average of 22.5% but significantly lower than the borough average of 32.3%. 23.1% of residents are educated to degree level or above, compared to a national average of 27.4% but a much lower borough average of 17.4%. 71.1% of the population is economically active and 1.7% is long term unemployed, which is in line with the national average but slightly, lower than the borough average of 2.1%.

Human health and social work activities employ the most workers at 17.7%, followed by wholesale and retail trades at 16%. 7.6% are employed in higher managerial, administrative, and professional occupations, 1.5% more than the borough average but almost 3% fewer than the national average. 29.5% have semi routine or routine occupations, significantly fewer than the borough average of 35.3%. Only 3.7% of residents have never worked, compared to a national average of 3.9% and a borough average of 4.2%.