Deckham is an area of social and economic deprivation, in the top ten per cent of such areas according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation. Housing stock is predominantly council housing and is, in many places, outdated and in need of modernisation. Whilst once the site of a coal mine, there is today no major employer in Deckham, which is considered a residential suburb of Gateshead. The main economic activity is in a commercial development on Old Durham Road. Deckham has a number of public houses, one of which, the Plough Inn, is more than 150 years old. The only education provision is at South Street Primary School, which is a good school according to OFSTED. There are two churches, one of which, the Church of St George, is a Grade II listed building, and community facilities are provided by Gateshead Older People's Assembly and the Elgin Centre in Carr Hill.