Health statistics

The health of people in Oxford is varied compared with the England average. In terms of overall deprivation, 11% of Oxford's usual residents live in deprived areas, compared to 20% in England.

About 21% (5,200) children live in poverty and this goes up to 26% once monthly housing costs are subtracted. This compares to about 29% in England as a whole.

Whilst in Oxford the percentage of physically active adults is high, and the percentage of obese adults is low, mental health problems and substance misuse are prevalent within the population.

Indicators of health and well-being

Life expectancy and causes of death

• Life expectancy for Oxford residents is 79.5 years for men and 84.4 years for women. This is better than the national average.
• Inequalities in life expectancy at birth for men from the least to the most deprived areas of Oxford are estimated to be around 13 years. For women, there is a smaller gap of around 9 years.
• The city’s roads account for the largest number of Oxfordshire’s pedal cycle casualties and the number of cyclist casualties has risen in recent years.

Disease and poor health

• Age-standardised figures on disability from Census 2021 data show that the proportion of those who have been recorded as day-to-day activities limited a lot in Oxford (6.2%) is above the county average (5.5%) but below the national average (7.5%). Those who were recorded as day-to-day activities limited a little in Oxford was 10.2%. This is higher than the county average (9.6%) and in line with the national average (10.2%)

Adults' health and lifestyle

• Overall, adults in Oxford are healthier than the England average, with a significantly higher percentage of physically active adults (71.6% vs 64.5%) and one of the lowest percentages of overweight or obese adults (49% vs 62%).

Children's and young people's health (2018-21)

• In Year 6, 25.1% (345) of children are classified as obese, worse than the average for England at 23.4%.
• The rate for alcohol-specific hospital admissions among those under 18 is 30 per 100,000, worse than the average for England. 
• Levels of breastfeeding and smoking in pregnancy are better than the England average.

Oxford Public Health Profile

See the Oxford Public Health Profile on the Public Health England website.

Publications

Local Health profiles - health indicators for small areas within the city.

Oxfordshire Director of Public Health report.

Joint Strategic Needs Assessment on the Oxfordshire Insight website.