Mid Sussex Statistics and Data

• Mid Sussex is home to 152,600 residents as of 2021 and 63,300 households (ONS, Census 2021).
• Mid Sussex is a comparatively prosperous district ranked 312^th out of 317 council areas based on the English Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2019.

• Mid Sussex information gathered by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) for the 2021 census can be viewed in this census map.
• ONS has also published a summary of changes in Mid Sussex between the last two censuses held in 2011 and 2021 that can be viewed on this page.

In Mid Sussex, the population size has increased by 9.1%, from around 139,860 in 2011 to 152,566 in 2021. This is higher than the overall increase for England of (6.6%) and the average increase for the South East of 7.5%.

Mid Sussex population change, Census 2021 – ONS

The number of households in Mid Sussex has increased by 10.3% from 57,409 to 63,300.  This is above the average increase for England of 6.2% and for West Sussex of 8.6%.  Horsham has seen the largest increase in number of households in West Sussex of 13.6%.

Overall age breakdown for Mid Sussex from the 2021 Census –

The Mid Sussex population has aged since the last census.  There has been an increase of 24.5% in people aged 65 years and over, an increase of 5.0% in people aged 15 to 64 years, and an increase of 8.8% in children aged under 15 years.  There has been a 51% increase in Mid Sussex of those aged 70 – 74 and 35% increase in 75 - 79 year olds.

Nationally the population has also continued to age, with more than one in six people (18.4%) were aged 65 years and over on Census Day in 2021.

Mid Sussex is becoming more diverse.

• The White British population in Mid Sussex has decreased from 90.3% to 85.8% between 2011 and 2021. There is a similar trend at national level with a reduction in this ethnic group from 80.5% to 74.4%.
• In Mid Sussex the main increase has been in the white other group from 3.8% to 5.2%. Nationally the percentage of the population identifying in this category was 6.2%, up from 4.4% in 2011.
• The next largest ethnic group in Mid Sussex is Asian or Asian British: Indian at 1.6% up from 1.0%. Nationally, this group accounted for 9.3% of the population, up from 7.5% in 2011.

The percentage of the population where the country of birth and passports held are outside of UK increased from 9.7% in 2011 to 11.90% in 2021

As with the national picture, the most common country of birth outside of the UK in Mid Sussex from the 2021 Census data is India.

Top 10 most numerous non- UK populations in Mid Sussex at 2021

The biggest changes in religious belief have been a 15.5% increase in those stating as having no religion to 42.1% and a 14.8% reduction in those stating Christian to 47.9%. Of the remaining who stated their religion, responses were spread across a number of faiths, with Muslim being the largest at 1.2%.

Mid Sussex 2021 Census data compared to 2011:

Health

Information from the 2021 Census showed that 53.2% of Mid Sussex residents described their health as "very good", increasing from 51.1% in 2011. Those describing their health as "good" fell from 34.5% to 33.3%.  The proportion of Mid Sussex residents describing their health as "very bad" was 0.7%, while those describing their health as "bad" was 2.6%.  Both these proportions are similar to the figures for 2011.

In addition to the health information from the Census:

• Public Health England publish the annual Mid Sussex Health Profile. Topics include deprivation, life expectancy, early deaths, health inequalities by ethnic group and a summary of 32 health indicators comparing Mid Sussex with England and the South East.
• The Local Government Association’s LG Inform publish Health and Wellbeing in Mid Sussex: An Overview which provides facts and figures on various health topics.

Disability

Disability, England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk)

Mid Sussex 2021 Census data (2011 figures in brackets):

• 5.0% (5.8%) are disabled under the equality act: day to day activities limited a lot.
• 9.2% (8.4%) are disabled under the equality act: day to day activities limited a little.
• 85.8% (85.8%) not disabled under the equality act.
• 72.6% of households have no disabled people.
• 22.5% 1 person disabled in the household.
• 4.9% 2 or more disabled in household.

Carers

13% of Mid Sussex residents provide unpaid care, 4.5% 1-19 hours per week, 1.2% 20-49 hours per week and 1.9% over 50 hours per week.

For the first time the 2021 census asked about sexual orientation:

The above table shows that 2.63% of the Mid Sussex population answered as LGB+.  Nationally, around 1.5 million people (3.2%) identified with an LGB+ orientation (“Gay or Lesbian”, “Bisexual” or “Other sexual orientation”).   The local authority with the largest LGB+ population among those aged 16 years and over was Brighton and Hove (10.7%).

This was one of the new questions for the 2021 Census. In Mid Sussex 0.32% had a gender identity different from their sex registered at birth, compared to 0.5% (262,000) nationally. 

Mid Sussex has a comparatively well qualified population, with 38.7% qualified to level 4 or 5 (first degree or higher).  This has increased from 33.6% in 2011.

11.7% had no qualifications, down from 14.8% in 2011.

Census Maps - Census 2021 data interactive, ONS

The 2021 Census included for the first time a question on whether anyone in the household has an armed forces connection.  4,673 people in Mid Sussex, 3.8% of usual residents aged 16 and over, reported that they had previously served in the UK armed forces.  This is consistent with the national figure of 3.8%.  Mid Sussex veterans comprised 2.7% who had served with the regular forces, 0.9% in the reserves and 0.2% in both.  See the Armed Forces Community Covenant - Mid Sussex District Council for further information on support for the Armed Forces community.

As of September 2022, 66,800 working age residents (85%) are in employment (Nomis, 2022).

The median annual earnings for full-time working residents is £38,880 (Nomis, 2022).

The proportion of retired people in the District has increased from 14.17% to 23.92% between 2011 and 2021.

The number of usual residents aged 16-74 who work mainly at or from home has shown a large increase from 5,471 in 2011 to 31,314 in 2021.  At the time of the Census however, the government were advising people to stay at home and only attend work if there was no alternative.

According to the 2022 UK Business Counts Mid Sussex currently has a total of 7,360 businesses which are VAT and/or PAYE registered.

The largest industry group in the district is professional, scientific and technical (19.8% of the businesses), followed closely by construction (15%) and Business administration & support services (10%).

Of the top 5 industries in Mid Sussex, professional, scientific and technical has a higher share of businesses in Mid Sussex (19.8%) than in West Sussex as a whole (17.2%).  However, construction has a slightly higher share of businesses in West Sussex compared to Mid Sussex (15.4% compared to 15%).

Extensive information about the Mid Sussex economy is available in the District Profile prepared to inform the Council’s Sustainable Economy Strategy 2022 – 2025 Sustainable Economy Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2025 - Mid Sussex District Council

The English Indices of Deprivation 2019 ranks Mid Sussex 312^th out of 317 councils, although there are pockets of relative deprivation in each of the three towns.  These are at Haywards Heath, Bentswood ward, which ranks highest in Mid Sussex with an overall deprivation score of 29.2, followed by Burgess Hill, Victoria ward with 24, then East Grinstead, Ashplats ward with a deprivation score of 19.9.

Census 2021 figures for Mid Sussex:

• The percentage of Mid Sussex households that owned their home (outright or with a mortgage or loan) decreased from 74.3% to 72.6%, between 2011 and 2021.
• 10.8% of households (6,812) are socially rented, compared to 10.6% in 2011. 17.1% of households across England are socially rented.  As of 31^st December 2022, Mid Sussex had a total of 1,932 households on the Housing Register.
• 15.3% of households (9,714) are privately rented or rent free, up from 12.8% in 2011. This compares with 20.6% across England.

Further information about housing and homelessness in Mid Sussex can be found on the Housing Strategies page of the Council’s website, especially the Homelessness Review Housing Strategies - Mid Sussex District Council

Mid Sussex is a safe place to live shown by the following comparison with other Sussex areas for crimes per 1,000 population.

Further crime figures are provided through the annual Strategic Intelligence Assessment, which can be found on the Mid Sussex Partnership page of the Council’s website

Mid Sussex Partnership - Mid Sussex District Council