Place CheckerOfficial local evidence

Census 2021 neighbourhood · E02003148

City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour

City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour is a Census neighbourhood of about 11,316 residents in Plymouth. This is a statistical area, not an administrative boundary or a postcode district.

Area evidence brief for Plymouth
11,316

Usual residents

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

4,425

Households

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

7,394.1

Residents per km²

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

20.8%

Households owning their home

ONS Census 2021 · tenure

56.7%

Households with no car or van

ONS Census 2021 · car availability

26.5%

Adults with a degree or above

ONS Census 2021 · qualifications

Neighbourhoods most like this one

Closest matches elsewhere in England and Wales, across 14 Census themes. Similarity is statistical, not a recommendation, and says nothing about how anywhere feels to live in.

Central Exeter, Exeter11,622 residents · 26.2% owned · 53.9% no carSt Ann's West, Nottingham11,560 residents · 17.8% owned · 61.9% no carChinatown, St James & Georgian Quarter, Liverpool9,557 residents · 9.8% owned · 61.7% no carLancaster Central, Lancaster9,086 residents · 35.9% owned · 46.9% no carLittle Chester, Derby8,244 residents · 28.4% owned · 42.6% no carSharrow, Sheffield9,579 residents · 20.6% owned · 49.0% no car

Census 2021 · Census neighbourhood (MSOA)

Life in City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour

People, households and homes at the stated Census geography. These describe the 2021 population, not the occupants of a particular home.

Tenure

Private rented45.8%
2,025 households
Social rented32.5%
1,436 households
Owned20.8%
920 households
Shared ownership0.9%
39 households
Lives rent free0.1%
5 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Accommodation type

In a purpose-built block of flats or tenement60.5%
2,677 households
Part of a converted or shared house, including bedsits14.9%
657 households
Terraced12.4%
548 households
Part of another converted building, for example, former school, church or warehouse5.5%
243 households
In a commercial building, for example, in an office building, hotel or over a shop2.8%
125 households
Semi-detached2.5%
110 households
Detached1.4%
60 households
A caravan or other mobile or temporary structure0%
2 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Car or van availability

No cars or vans in household56.7%
2,510 households
1 car or van in household33%
1,459 households
2 cars or vans in household7.6%
337 households
3 or more cars or vans in household2.6%
117 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Number of bedrooms

1 bedroom39.4%
1,744 households
2 bedrooms39.3%
1,740 households
3 bedrooms12.3%
544 households
4 or more bedrooms8.9%
395 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household composition

One-person household50.4%
2,231 households
Single family household36.5%
1,616 households
Other household types13%
577 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household size

1 person in household50.4%
2,231 households
2 people in household30.6%
1,352 households
3 people in household8.9%
394 households
4 people in household5.2%
228 households
5 people in household2.4%
108 households
6 people in household1.5%
65 households
8 or more people in household0.6%
25 households
7 people in household0.5%
20 households
0 people in household0%
0 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Age

Under 157.4%
842 residents
15–2953.2%
6,026 residents
30–4415.3%
1,728 residents
45–6414.4%
1,631 residents
65 and over9.6%
1,091 residents
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Ethnic group

White82.5%
9,338 residents
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh7.5%
848 residents
Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African4%
450 residents
Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups3.4%
383 residents
Other ethnic group2.6%
298 residents
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Highest qualification

Level 3 qualifications39.9%
4,159 residents aged 16 and over
Level 4 qualifications or above26.5%
2,759 residents aged 16 and over
No qualifications11.6%
1,210 residents aged 16 and over
Level 2 qualifications9.5%
990 residents aged 16 and over
Level 1 and entry level qualifications6.3%
661 residents aged 16 and over
Apprenticeship4%
419 residents aged 16 and over
Other qualifications2.1%
223 residents aged 16 and over
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Economic activity

Economically inactive53%
5,521 residents aged 16 and over
Economically active (excluding full-time students)35.4%
3,688 residents aged 16 and over
Economically active and a full-time student11.6%
1,207 residents aged 16 and over
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Occupational class (NS-SeC)

L15 Full-time students43.6%
4,538 residents aged 16 and over
L13 Routine occupations10.3%
1,073 residents aged 16 and over
L4, L5 and L6 Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations10.1%
1,052 residents aged 16 and over
L12 Semi-routine occupations8.3%
866 residents aged 16 and over
L14.1 and L14.2 Never worked and long-term unemployed7%
733 residents aged 16 and over
L7 Intermediate occupations6.5%
681 residents aged 16 and over
L8 and L9 Small employers and own account workers5.9%
615 residents aged 16 and over
L1, L2 and L3 Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations4.8%
497 residents aged 16 and over
L10 and L11 Lower supervisory and technical occupations3.5%
365 residents aged 16 and over
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

General health

Very good health45.4%
5,137 residents
Good health35.5%
4,020 residents
Fair health13.1%
1,480 residents
Bad health4.6%
519 residents
Very bad health1.4%
160 residents
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Disability

Not disabled under the Equality Act78.5%
8,881 residents
Disabled under the Equality Act21.5%
2,434 residents
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household deprivation

Household is not deprived in any dimension37.8%
1,672 households
Household is deprived in one dimension34.6%
1,530 households
Household is deprived in two dimensions19.9%
879 households
Household is deprived in three dimensions7.2%
318 households
Household is deprived in four dimensions0.5%
24 households
City Centre, Barbican & Sutton Harbour · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Each percentage uses its Census table’s own total. Rounding and source categories can affect totals. ONS Census data · OGL v3.0.

How the similarity is worked out

Alike on the Census, which is not the same as alike to live in.

Every neighbourhood is described by its shares across the Census themes above — tenure, housing, cars, household make-up, age, ethnic group, qualifications, work, health and deprivation — each theme weighted equally, which is the approach ONS takes in its own Output Area Classification. The neighbourhoods listed are the closest on those numbers, published in full rather than folded into a score. Nothing here measures schools, crime, prices or what a place is like to be in, and a close match is a statistical fact rather than a suggestion to move.

Browse every neighbourhood in Plymouth

Evidence ledger

Source and date are part of the record.

Shared catalogue checked 2026-08-28: 88 candidate data layers listed. Catalogue presence is not publication approval; only separately approved public projections may be shown.