AreaPulse
Methodology

How AreaPulse scores work

Every area report includes nine scores from 0 to 100, built from official UK open data. This page explains what each score is meant to capture and the kinds of sources behind it.

Reading a score

Scores run from 0 (low) to 100 (high). Unless noted otherwise, we label Strong at 60 and above, Average from 40 to 59, and Below avg under 40. Affluence uses its own bands (Strong 55+, Average 35-54).

The nine scores

Affluence

Built from

Census 2021 social grade

In plain terms

Reflects the share of households in higher social grades. Higher scores mean a stronger professional / managerial presence in the neighbourhood.

Safety

Built from

Official crime / community-safety deprivation ranking, plus recorded crime relative to the England & Wales average where available

In plain terms

Combines the official neighbourhood deprivation ranking with how busy the area is for recorded crime. Crime rates use police.uk data compared with the ONS England & Wales average of 87 per 1,000 people per year (ONS Crime in England and Wales, year ending March 2025). In some parts of the UK only the ranking is available.

Gentrification

Built from

Land Registry prices, Local Authority medians, Census social grade, education/employment deprivation

In plain terms

Looks at whether prices and recent price direction sit above the wider Local Authority, alongside today's social mix and deprivation profile. Price trends come from live sales; Census social mix is a snapshot updated every ten years.

Family

Built from

Safety, nearby schools, housing stock and affordability, walkability, green space, healthcare access, and family-friendly amenities nearby

In plain terms

Looks at whether the area is a good fit for families - safety, schools, housing that suits families, getting around on foot, green space, healthcare, and nearby amenities. A separate Demographics badge shows how many families already live there.

Stability

Built from

Census tenure and age structure, Land Registry sales activity

In plain terms

Favours areas with more owner-occupiers, quieter sales turnover, and an older age profile - signals of settled, less transient neighbourhoods.

Professional class

Built from

Census social grade, education, and occupation

In plain terms

Summarises the concentration of higher social grades, degree-level qualifications, and managerial / professional occupations.

Commuter

Built from

Census travel-to-work and car ownership

In plain terms

Reflects how many people work from home and how many households live without a car. Broadband and mobile coverage sit under Location & connectivity.

Location & connectivity

Built from

Walkability & access (DfT metric or our local access estimate) plus Ofcom broadband and mobile coverage

In plain terms

Captures how well-connected and well-served a place feels day to day - getting around and what's nearby, plus broadband and mobile coverage from Ofcom.

Overall

Built from

The eight dimension scores above

In plain terms

A balanced average of the dimension scores available for this area.

Census 2021 demographics

The Demographics section draws on Office for National Statistics Census 2021 topic summaries. Alongside social grade, age, ethnicity, tenure and housing, it covers:

  • Religion
  • General health
  • Disability
  • Economic activity
  • Household size
  • Bedrooms
  • National Statistics Socio-economic Classification (NS-SeC)
  • Industry

Census 2021 covers England & Wales. Matching topics for Scotland and Northern Ireland are omitted where they are not available from the same source.

Missing data

We never invent a number to fill a gap. When a source is unavailable for an area, that piece drops out and the score uses whatever remains. If nothing usable is left, we hide the score.

A note on deprivation rankings

Deprivation rankings are nation-relative. England uses the IMD, Wales the WIMD, Scotland the SIMD and Northern Ireland the NIMDM. A ranking compares an area against others within the same nation - not a single UK-wide league table.

Data sources

AreaPulse is built from official UK open data. Most public-sector sources are published under the Open Government Licence v3; OpenStreetMap data uses the Open Database Licence. Each report section names the relevant source inline. Broadband and mobile figures come from the Ofcom APIs; the Connectivity section (and compare tables that show those figures) include Ofcom's required powered-by mark and coverage disclosures.

  • Census 2021, Office for National Statistics
  • HM Land Registry Price Paid Data (© Crown copyright)
  • police.uk street-level crime
  • English Indices of Deprivation (IMD), MHCLG
  • Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD), Welsh Government
  • Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), Scottish Government
  • Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measure (NIMDM), NISRA
  • Planning applications (Planning Data), MHCLG
  • Transport Connectivity Metric (walking), Department for Transport
  • Ofcom Connected Nations (broadband and mobile)
  • OS Open Greenspace (Ordnance Survey)
  • NaPTAN stop data, Department for Transport
  • Care Quality Commission (CQC)
  • Get Information about Schools (GIAS), DfE
  • EPC Open Data, MHCLG
  • VOA Council Tax stock of properties (England & Wales)
  • MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax levels
  • UK Parliament Members API (current MPs)
  • House of Commons Library general election 2024 results (CBP-10009)
  • OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)

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