Place CheckerOfficial local evidence

Census 2021 neighbourhood · E02003578

Sholing West

Sholing West is a Census neighbourhood of about 6,337 residents in Southampton. This is a statistical area, not an administrative boundary or a postcode district.

Area evidence brief for Southampton
6,337

Usual residents

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

2,743

Households

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

4,577.1

Residents per km²

ONS Census 2021 · MSOA

69.2%

Households owning their home

ONS Census 2021 · tenure

16.0%

Households with no car or van

ONS Census 2021 · car availability

23.1%

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.

Hinckley Clarendon Park, Hinckley and Bosworth6,229 residents · 64.7% owned · 20.4% no carYate West, South Gloucestershire6,302 residents · 70.4% owned · 14.2% no carDurrington South, Worthing9,605 residents · 73.1% owned · 17.3% no carBraintree South, Braintree9,832 residents · 58.4% owned · 18.4% no carBoyatt Wood, Eastleigh9,045 residents · 65.5% owned · 16.0% no carSt Neots Eynesbury, Huntingdonshire10,541 residents · 65.2% owned · 15.6% no car

Most similar within Southampton

The closest matches in the same local authority.

Sholing East, Southampton7,660 residents · 70.4% owned · 17.8% no car

Census 2021 · Census neighbourhood (MSOA)

Life in Sholing West

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

Tenure

Owned69.2%
1,899 households
Private rented18.3%
503 households
Social rented11.6%
318 households
Shared ownership0.8%
22 households
Lives rent free0%
1 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Accommodation type

Semi-detached44.6%
1,224 households
Detached19.2%
528 households
Terraced16.9%
463 households
In a purpose-built block of flats or tenement15.6%
428 households
Part of a converted or shared house, including bedsits2.6%
72 households
A caravan or other mobile or temporary structure0.5%
14 households
In a commercial building, for example, in an office building, hotel or over a shop0.4%
12 households
Part of another converted building, for example, former school, church or warehouse0.1%
3 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Car or van availability

1 car or van in household44.3%
1,217 households
2 cars or vans in household30.2%
830 households
No cars or vans in household16%
440 households
3 or more cars or vans in household9.4%
258 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Number of bedrooms

3 bedrooms47.7%
1,308 households
2 bedrooms31.4%
861 households
1 bedroom13.2%
362 households
4 or more bedrooms7.8%
214 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household composition

Single family household63.4%
1,740 households
One-person household30.7%
843 households
Other household types5.9%
162 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household size

2 people in household34.1%
935 households
1 person in household30.7%
843 households
3 people in household17.1%
469 households
4 people in household12.8%
352 households
5 people in household4%
111 households
6 people in household1%
27 households
7 people in household0.2%
6 households
8 or more people in household0.1%
2 households
0 people in household0%
0 households
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Age

Under 1516.4%
1,039 residents
15–2917.7%
1,124 residents
30–4421.6%
1,368 residents
45–6427%
1,709 residents
65 and over17.3%
1,093 residents
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Ethnic group

White94.2%
5,971 residents
Mixed or Multiple ethnic groups2.6%
162 residents
Asian, Asian British or Asian Welsh2.2%
138 residents
Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African0.7%
44 residents
Other ethnic group0.4%
27 residents
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Highest qualification

Level 4 qualifications or above23.1%
1,204 residents aged 16 and over
Level 3 qualifications19.9%
1,040 residents aged 16 and over
No qualifications19.6%
1,022 residents aged 16 and over
Level 2 qualifications15%
782 residents aged 16 and over
Level 1 and entry level qualifications11.9%
620 residents aged 16 and over
Apprenticeship7.9%
413 residents aged 16 and over
Other qualifications2.7%
139 residents aged 16 and over
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Economic activity

Economically active (excluding full-time students)64.8%
3,384 residents aged 16 and over
Economically inactive33.5%
1,750 residents aged 16 and over
Economically active and a full-time student1.7%
89 residents aged 16 and over
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Occupational class (NS-SeC)

L4, L5 and L6 Lower managerial, administrative and professional occupations18.6%
970 residents aged 16 and over
L12 Semi-routine occupations15.1%
788 residents aged 16 and over
L13 Routine occupations14.3%
745 residents aged 16 and over
L7 Intermediate occupations13.2%
687 residents aged 16 and over
L8 and L9 Small employers and own account workers12.3%
640 residents aged 16 and over
L1, L2 and L3 Higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations8.7%
453 residents aged 16 and over
L10 and L11 Lower supervisory and technical occupations6.7%
351 residents aged 16 and over
L14.1 and L14.2 Never worked and long-term unemployed6.5%
338 residents aged 16 and over
L15 Full-time students4.8%
252 residents aged 16 and over
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

General health

Very good health44.6%
2,827 residents
Good health37%
2,347 residents
Fair health13.7%
866 residents
Bad health3.6%
227 residents
Very bad health1.1%
72 residents
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Disability

Not disabled under the Equality Act81.9%
5,188 residents
Disabled under the Equality Act18.1%
1,150 residents
Sholing West · Census neighbourhood (MSOA) · ONS Census 2021

Household deprivation

Household is not deprived in any dimension47.6%
1,307 households
Household is deprived in one dimension34.5%
946 households
Household is deprived in two dimensions14.7%
403 households
Household is deprived in three dimensions2.9%
80 households
Household is deprived in four dimensions0.3%
7 households
Sholing West · 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 Southampton

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.