Services

People

News and Events

Other

Blogs

Census 2021 Data Shows the Top 10 Up-and-Coming Places to Live

Posted

Cornwall is the most up-and-coming place to live, new census data reveals.

The 2021 census results are in. We’ve done a deep dive into the first set of data released to see where young people are living now compared to when the last census took place in 2011.

We can reveal Cornwall is the most popular place for young people to live and Inner London is the least popular.

This is based on analysing the population in each location within the age groups of 0-19, 20-39, 40-64 and 65+ year olds, and comparing the percentages between 2011 and 2021.

The top 10 most popula r counties to live amongst 20-39 year olds in England and Wales, as well as the percentage increase of this age group here between 2011 and 2021, are:

Cornwall, 16%
Rutland, 15%
Isle of Wight, 12%
West Berkshire, 11%
Outer London, 9%
Torbay, 6%
Worcestershire, 5%
South Gloucestershire, 4%
Essex, 4%
Leicestershire, 3%

You can read more about the stats behind these results here.

The 10 least popular places for 20-39 year olds to live in England and Wales, as well as the percentage decrease of this age group here between 2011 and 2021, are:

Inner London, 20%
Nottingham, 11%
Plymouth, 11%
City of Bristol, 10%
Brighton and Hove, 8%
Medway, 8%
Luton, 7%
Stoke-on-Trent, 7%
Southampton, 6%
Portsmouth, 5%

You can read more about the stats behind these results here.

A Breakdown of the Top 10 Most Popular Areas for Younger People

Young People Moving to the Coast

Starting with the most surprising statistics within this age group, it’s interesting to see that the population of 20-39 year olds living in Cornwall and the Isle of Wight over the past 10 years has increased by 16% and 12%, respectively.

This is coupled by a 9% decrease in 65+ year olds living in Cornwall and a 10% decrease in 65+ residents in the Isle of Wight. Torbay also joins this list, with a 6% increase of 20-39 year olds, but an 8% decrease of 65+ year olds.

This suggests a significant demographic shift in Cornwall towards younger residents.

20-39 year olds Leaving London

It is also somewhat surprising to see an overall increase of 9% of 20-39 year olds across Outer London as a whole, considering that the smaller Local Authorities (LAs) in this area saw a decrease of 20-39 year olds individually.

More specifically, the percentage population decreases of this age group for various Outer London LAs were:

Richmond Upon Thames, 7%
Hounslow, 5%
Ealing, 5%
Kingston Upon Thames, 5%
Merton, 4%
Brent, 4%

Havering saw the largest increase for this age group of just 2% out of all the LAs in Outer London.

The 2011 population of 20-39 year olds was 1,545,714 (31% of population as a whole) versus the 2021 population of 20-39 year olds being 1,359,200 (40% of population as a whole). It’s clear that the overall Outer London population has decreased massively, which perhaps explains the discrepancy across individual LAs here, compared to the overall increase.

In comparison, almost every LA in Outer London increased for 40+ year olds. The only exceptions were Barking and Dagenham for 65+ year olds, and Havering for 40-64 year olds.

Young People Moving to the Midlands

Some other key areas to note were Worcestershire, Essex and Leicestershire.

In Worcestershire, the LAs which saw the biggest increase of 20-39 year olds were Wychavon and Malvern Hills, whereas Redditch saw the biggest decrease. Every LA here saw an increase of 65+ year olds.

In Essex, Brentwood saw the largest percentage increase of 20-39 year olds moving here out of all the LAs.

Chelmsford and Colchester were the only LAs in Essex where the percentage population of 20-39 year olds between 2011 and 2021 decreased, but only by 1% each. In comparison, every LA in Essex decreased for 0-19 and 40-64 year olds, but increased for 65+ year olds.

Finally, in Leicestershire, each LA in this county mainly stayed the same for 20-39 year olds., but saw an overall decrease in 0-19 and 40-64 year olds, and an overall increase in 65+ year olds.

A Breakdown of the Top 10 Least Popular Areas for Younger People

Bristol and Brighton No Longer the Places to be

It’s interesting to see that Bristol and Brighton and Hove saw an overall decrease in 20-39 year old residents over the past 10 years. These areas have a reputation for being very youthful, with various LGBTQ+ communities in these areas, as well as the night life and universities here, so this is a surprising turn of events.

Young People Moving Away from Central London

Somewhat unsurprisingly, considering cost of living increases, was the huge decrease in the percentage of 20-39 year olds living in Inner London. This saw a massive 20% decrease.

The only LA in Inner London that saw an increase was City of London, which saw a 6% increase of 20-39 year olds. City of London is just a small microcosm of a few thousand Inner London residents, so the overall decrease in every other LA shows the full picture.

To accompany these figures, LAs in Inner London saw mostly an increase in 40-64 year olds living here. Specifically, Haringey (5% increase), Newham (5% increase), Hammersmith and Fulham (4% increase) and Tower Hamlets (4% increase). LAs in Inner London also saw mostly an increase in 65+ year olds, although to a lower extent than 40-64 year olds, specifically Kensington and Chelsea (2% increase) and Haringey (2% increase).

What is Influencing Where Young People are Choosing to Live?

Cost of housing

The cost of housing is almost certainly a key driver in where young people are choosing to live.

Property values continue to increase and this heatmap shows that many of the least popular places for young people to live, such as Brighton & Hove, are some of the most expensive.

It therefore seems likely that a growing number of young people are simply choosing to relocate to cheaper areas as well as avoiding moving to those that are more expensive.

The move to work from home

People’s changing property needs due to the growth in working from home during and after the pandemic is also likely an important influence on where all people of working age want to live.

The number of people working from home surged during the early days of the pandemic, from 5.7% in January and February 2020 to 43.1% in April 2020. From 19-30 January 2022, 36% of adults were working from home at least some of the time.

This means properties with extra space for home offices are more attractive and the need to be close to work is less important. Combined with the higher cost of buying in many urban locations, this is likely encouraging younger people to move to cheaper areas where they can afford more space.

Brexit

Net immigration from the EU has fallen significantly following Brexit, and data from before Brexit shows that most immigrants to the UK were aged 20-30.

Inner London has historically been one of the most popular areas for UK immigrants to live, so fewer immigrants coming to the UK and more leaving could be an important part of the puzzle in why Inner London’s population has fallen.

Want to Move to the Up-and-Coming Places to Live?

It’s clear that the first release of the 2021 census data has revealed some surprises with regards to where people are living.

If you’re looking to buy a home to become part of this change, be sure to get in touch with the team at Bird & Co by calling 01476 591711.

Or, if you’d rather, head to our website for a conveyancing quote. We look forward to helping you find your dream home in these up-and-coming places.

Our methodology

We have compared data from the Office for National Statistics 2011 and 2021 Census results relating to the age groups living in each county or Local Authority to see how different age groups have increased or decreased in each area over the past 10 years.

We calculated the percentage of residents for each age group in each location by dividing the number of people in that age group by the total population for that area. We then compared these percentages from the 2011 and 2021 data to work out the increase or decrease.

Please note: while this data has been taken from reputable sources, the interpretations presented here are those of the Bird & Co researchers.

Data sources

Ask a question