THERE are now 166,600 people living in Huntingdonshire, but more than one-third of those who work, do so outside the district, according to new statistics Around half the population lives in Huntingdon, Godmanchester, St Neots, St Ives and Ramsey. The oth

THERE are now 166,600 people living in Huntingdonshire, but more than one-third of those who work, do so outside the district, according to new statistics

Around half the population lives in Huntingdon, Godmanchester, St Neots, St Ives and Ramsey. The other half lives in nearly 80 villages in the district.

These statistics are included in an updated fact-file entitled Huntingdonshire Today, just published by the district council and available on its website.

It says house prices in Huntingdonshire are 4.5 per cent lower than the average for the UK and eight per cent below the Cambridgeshire average. However, house prices in Huntingdonshire have risen by almost 10 per cent over the last year, and cheaper homes have experienced some of the highest price rises leading, to a lack of affordable housing throughout the district, particularly for lower-paid workers.

Deprivation in Huntingdonshire overall is relatively low, HDC says. The ward of Huntingdon North has particularly high levels of deprivation indicators, such as lone parents, no qualifications.

Average weekly earnings in Huntingdonshire are around six per cent higher than the national average.

Economic activity is particularly high, with every ward in Huntingdonshire having a higher level than the national average. Unemployment remains low at one per cent, compared to the UK average of 2.1 per cent.

Huntingdonshire has a low overall level of people claiming income support, jobseeker's allowance and pension credit. However, there are a few wards with high levels of claimants.

Huntingdonshire has a high level of out-commuting at 35.3 per cent. The 2001 census showed there was a four per cent increase in out-commuting since the 1991 census.

The average distance travelled to a fixed place of work for people living in Huntingdonshire is the seventh highest of all 48 local authority areas in the East of England, which itself has the highest average distance of all the regions in England.

Of those people who work in the district, 22.8 per cent commute in. A significant number of people in employment in Huntingdonshire work from home (9.8 per cent), the largest proportion of which are small employers and own account workers.

Almost a quarter of people aged 16-74 in Huntingdonshire have no formal qualifications. However, this remains lower than the county and national average. The level of qualifications attained by the people of Huntingdonshire is close to the national average, the council says.

Life expectancy in Huntingdonshire is high compared to the national average. In the 2001 census, 73.37 per cent of people described their health as good - almost five per cent higher than the national average.

Huntingdonshire's residents are predominantly white, with just 2.85 per cent categorised as non-white in the 2001 census. This is a much lower level than the national average of 9.08 per cent. Since the 1991 Census, the total number of non-white residents has increased by over 30 per cent to nearly 4,500 people.

The percentage of households in Huntingdonshire that have access to two or more cars or vans is 14 per cent higher than the national average. The district's rural wards generally have higher levels of vehicle ownership than urban wards.

The level of owner-occupied housing is higher than the national average, so there are lower levels of both private and social rented households.

Of all crimes reported in Cambridgeshire, 24.2 per cent were in Huntingdonshire, but the rate of crime per 1,000 population in the district is below the average for England and Wales.