Official Statistics

Key Findings, Statistical Digest of Rural England

Updated 16 April 2024

Applies to England

Population

The key findings from the Population section, as of July 2023, are as follows:

• Around 10 million people live in Rural areas, however the Rural population is growing at a slower rate than the Urban population.
• The more Rural the area the older the average age and the faster this average age is increasing.
• Overall, ‘white’ is the majority ethnic group in both Rural and Urban areas, however Urban areas tend to be more ethnically diverse than Rural areas.
• Net internal migration within tends to be towards Predominantly Rural areas, and the rate of this migration has grown since 2011; the exception to this is amongst those aged 17-20 who are leaving Predominantly Rural in search of education and training opportunities.
• 12 million people lived in a Predominantly Rural Local Authority in 2020; this is 21.3% of the England population.

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Housing

The key findings from the Housing section, as of February 2024, are as follows:

• In 2020, there were proportionally more rural homes that were either detached or pre-1919 than in urban areas and these two characteristics have the potential to make homes less energy efficient and therefore harder to keep adequately warm.
• In 2021/22 there was a much higher rate of housing completions in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas (10.3 dwelling completions per 1,000 households compared to 5.4 dwelling completions per 1,000 households) and in Rural areas more than half of the new builds where detached homes.
• The average sale price of residential properties in Rural areas is higher than in Urban areas and has increased continuously across England over the last decade.
• In 2022, houses in Predominantly Rural areas were less affordable to purchase for those in the bottom 25% of earners in Predominantly Rural areas than houses in Predominantly Urban areas for the bottom 25% of earners in those areas; but rental affordability was similar in Predominantly Rural and Predominantly Urban areas.
• In 2022, there was a similar number of Predominantly Rural dwellings classed as second homes or empty homes (100 thousand each); but whilst empty homes are fairly uniformly distributed across the country, there were 5 Rural areas where the proportion of properties that were second homes were particular high - at least 5.5% (more than 3 times the average proportion of second homes in Predominantly Rural areas).
• In 2022/23, there were proportionally fewer homeless people needing assistance in securing permanent settled accommodation in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas (excluding London).
• In 2021/22, there were almost double the number of new residential addresses per population in Rural areas than Urban areas.

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Health and Wellbeing

The key findings from the Health and Wellbeing section, as of March 2024, are as follows:

• On average, a child born in 2018-20 in Rural areas is expected to live between one and two years longer than a child born in Urban areas – this will be affected by a range of factors that differ between Rural and Urban areas, including socio-economic factors.
• Rural areas score marginally better than Urban areas on a selection of wellbeing measures; however for both Rural and Urban areas, the measures suggest a decline in wellbeing between 2018/19 and 2021/22 suggesting an impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
• There were 50 dentists per 100,000 population in Predominantly Rural areas compared with 59 dentists in Predominantly Urban areas.
• The ratio of General Practitioner total FTE to patients is slightly higher in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas.
• Childcare is changing in both Rural and Urban areas; in the last 7 years the number of providers has reduced alongside a move away from childminders and towards childcare on non-domestic premises; and the overall quality of childcare has improved.
• The rates of loneliness (a subjective, unwelcome feeling of lack or loss of companionship) reported in 2021/22 were slightly lower in Rural areas than in Urban ones when assessed both directly and indirectly.
• A greater proportion of people said they volunteered in Rural areas over the period 2013/14 to 2021/22 than did so in Urban areas, but over this period, the proportion of people who said they volunteered has fallen in both Rural and Urban areas. .

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Communities and Households

The key findings from the Communities and Households section, as of August 2023, are as follows:

• Deprivation in rural areas tends to be more dispersed. Deprivation measures are intended to identify concentrations of deprivation and the more dispersed nature of deprivation in rural areas mean that it less well identified. Deprived Rural areas are more prevalent along the East coast of England, in former mining communities in the North of England, and in the South West of England.
• Whether poverty levels are assessed using relative low income or absolute low income, the proportions of individuals and households living in poverty is lower in Rural areas than in Urban areas.
• In the last decade, average weekly expenditure (excluding mortgage payments) as a percentage of average weekly disposable income has been higher in Rural areas than Urban areas in all but two years (2013 and financial year 2017/18).
• Rates for police recorded crime per household or per population are lower in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas across all broad offence types; for example, the 2021 rate for residential burglary in Predominantly Rural Areas was less than half that in Predominantly Urban areas.
• Higher proportions of people in Rural areas are satisfied with and have a strong attachment to their neighbourhood than in Urban areas.

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Connectivity and Accessibility

The key findings from the Connectivity and Accessibility section, as of August 2023, are as follows:

• In 2022 the lowest average broadband speeds across England were seen in Mainly Rural areas (80 Mbit/s); the highest average speeds seen were in Urban with Major Conurbation areas (128 Mbit/s).
• In 2021 people living in the most Rural areas travelled almost twice as far per year than those in the most Urban areas.
• The uptake of electric vehicles over petrol or diesel engines is rising every year, resulting in an increased demand for EV charging points. As of January 2023, there were 45 charging devices per 100,000 population in Predominantly Rural areas, and 62 charging devices per 100,000 population in Predominantly Urban areas.
• In 2019, 80.9% of people living in Rural areas had access to a General Practice within half an hour’s travel using public transport and walking, compared with 99.8% of people living in Urban areas.
• In 2021 there were an estimated 1.5 million home workers in Rural areas, accounting for 32% of all workers living in Rural areas. There were an estimated 6.3 million home workers in Urban areas, accounting for 28% of all workings living in Urban areas.

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Education, Qualifications and Training

The key findings from the Education, Qualifications and Training section, as of April 2024, are as follows:

• In the 2022/23 academic year, 71.0% of pupils living in Rural areas left school with English and Maths GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (equivalent to A* to C). This was higher than for pupils living in Urban areas (67.3%).
• As at July 2023, 84% of secondary schools in Rural areas had received an “outstanding” or “good” outcome from their most recent inspection, compared with 81% in Urban areas.
• The total percentage of pupils eligible for free school meals is lower in Rural areas than in Urban areas; this has been the case for at least the last 5 years.
• In 2023 there were proportionally more Elective Home Education pupils in Predominantly Rural areas than there were in Predominantly Urban areas. In 2022/23 the proportion of pupils needing the extra support offered by an education, health and care (EHC) plan was slightly higher in Predominantly Rural areas than it was in Predominantly Urban areas; but a much lower proportion of children with an EHC attended a state funded special school in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas.
• Students from Predominantly Rural areas were less likely to progress onto a university degree than students from Predominantly Urban areas; but for those students from Predominantly Rural that do progress they were marginally more likely to go to a top-class university than students from Predominantly Urban areas.
• Relative to working age population there were more apprenticeship starts (11 per 1,000 working population) in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas (9 per 1,000 working population; this difference is largely driven by a higher rate of apprenticeship starts at Intermediate and Advanced levels in Predominantly Rural areas.
• Educational attainment levels of the workforce differ depending on whether you are considering where people work or where they live. Attainment levels based on workplace locations tend to be higher in Predominantly Urban areas. Residence based analysis shows higher levels of attainment in Predominantly Rural areas for Level 1 and 2 qualifications (GCSEs and NVQs Levels 1 and 2), while more recent years have shown the opposite for higher level qualifications like degrees.

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Rural Economic Bulletin

The key findings from the Rural Economic Bulletin section, as of March 2024, are as follows:

• Employment rates have been consistently higher in Rural areas than in Urban areas since 2007, while rates for unemployment and economic inactivity have been consistently lower in Rural areas.
• In 2022, workplace-based median earnings saw an annual increase of 8.7% in Predominantly Rural areas and 6.4% in Predominantly Urban areas. For residence-based earnings Predominantly Rural areas saw in increase of 8.1% compared with 6.3% for Predominantly Urban areas (excluding London).
• Redundancy rates show that typically, proportionally more people living in Urban areas are made redundant than in Rural areas, but this is not always the case and they have been proportionally higher in Rural areas throughout 2023.
• Proportionally fewer people claim Jobseeker’s Allowance in Rural areas than in Urban areas.
• In 2021, Gross Valued Added (GVA) from Predominantly Rural areas contributed 15.4% of England’s GVA and was worth an estimated £270 billion. This compares with 44.4% from Predominantly Urban areas (excluding London) (£780 billion).
• In 2021/22, there were 554,100 businesses registered in Rural areas, accounting for 23% of all registered businesses in England.
• Businesses registered in Rural areas employed 3.8 million people, accounting for 14% of all those employed by registered businesses in England.
• In Rural areas the greatest proportion of employment occurs in those businesses with between 10 and 49 employees (30%). In Urban areas the greatest proportion of employment occurs within businesses that have 250 employees or more (30% of employment).

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Energy

The key findings from the Energy section, as of March 2024, are as follows:

• There is a similar proportion of fuel poor households in Rural and Urban areas but the depth of the fuel poverty for these households is greater in Rural areas especially if their home is of low energy efficiency and/or off the gas grid.
• Energy efficiency of homes is improving and whether the property is a house or a flat and the age of the property are far more important factors in determining its energy efficiency than its level of rurality.
• For all pre-2012 properties proportionally fewer reach an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of C or better in Predominantly Rural areas than in Predominantly Urban areas.
• The lower energy efficiency of older and / or detached houses means that their modelled energy costs are higher than new properties or flats in both Rural and Urban areas.
• Average domestic electricity consumption is higher in Predominantly Rural areas than Predominantly Urban areas but the reverse is true for domestic gas consumption.