01
Name the area behind every figure
A town or postcode area can overlap several statistical geographies. Each figure says which one it describes, so it reads exactly as precisely as it was measured.
About AreaIndex
Facts about a place should come with their scale attached.
AreaIndex makes local public data easy to use, with where each figure came from, when it was measured and which area it describes kept beside it.
Why it exists
Public information is plentiful. Local understanding is harder.
Useful facts about an area are spread across government departments, regulators, councils and national agencies, each with its own boundaries, update schedules and definitions.
AreaIndex brings those records into one clear view. It starts with the practical questions people ask about a place, with a route back to the complete evidence for every answer.
02
Keep the evidence attached
Sources, dates, methods and limitations stay beside the data, so every concise answer leads straight back to its evidence.
03
Show the evidence, leave the judgement to you
Different people value different things. We lay out the figures in full and in context so you can weigh them for yourself.
From place to evidence
A simple journey, with careful work underneath.
- 01
Locate
A published town, city or postcode area is connected to the relevant statistical geographies.
- 02
Assemble
Public datasets are joined where their coverage and licensing allow it.
- 03
Explain
A practical overview leads into the full figures, comparisons, sources and caveats.
Coverage
Built for England, Scotland and Wales.
Topics differ between England, Scotland and Wales because the published datasets do. Northern Ireland is outside the current coverage because the underlying postcode data is licensed differently there.
Where a measure does not cover a place, the guide says so plainly, so a gap always reads as a gap.
Every figure carries
- The area it describes, from a single postcode to a whole council
- The source that published it, and the date it covers
- How it was made: measured, combined, modelled or calculated
- A national comparison wherever a reviewed one exists
Explore the live index
Start with a city or town.
Open a local guide, line places up in the rankings, or try the free planning tools.