E63008053 /North West evidence profile
North West evidence profile
Darwen digital planning profile
Darwen is a medium, non-coastal built-up area in North West. ONS records show a 2021 population of 27,323; the population remained comparatively stable between 2001 and 2021, while the 2015 to 2024 employment series shows a flat employment count. This profile turns those public observations into a reviewable website-planning brief without claiming that the figures measure searches, leads or Mosalio's physical presence.
01 / Data snapshot
What the reviewed source records
- BUA24 code
- E63008053
- ITL1 region
- North West
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
9.6% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
in line with the 0% dataset median.
47.9% above the 224.1% dataset median.
These medians use every complete England record accepted from the same ONS file. They are descriptive context, not targets, forecasts or a national demand model.
03 / Distinctive pattern
Where this record sits within 936 complete England profiles
Lowest decile · percentile position 3.6 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 85.4 of 100.
Lower quartile · percentile position 17.4 of 100.
These are the three values furthest from the middle percentile position for this record. A higher position means a higher published value, not a better outcome or evidence of search demand.
Evidence fingerprint: sha256:d6d1796852d…d612dc168b0f
04 / Constrained peers
Three named comparisons from the same reviewed source
Each peer is selected from all 936complete England records using the documented eight-metric distance. Deltas are Darwen minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Darwen is higher.
Regional peer
Bootle (Sefton) · E63008412
North West. Nearest complete record in North West. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- -26,399 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +6.2 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -2.4 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +7.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- £0
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +0.6 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.9 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.8 pp
Classification peer
Ilkeston · E63009082
East Midlands. Nearest complete record outside North West with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Mixed.
- 2021 population
- -11,400 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -3.3 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +2.4 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- 0 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£36,250
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +2.6 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.6 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.1 pp
National peer
Warmsworth · E63008374
Yorkshire and The Humber. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- +16,006 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +2.3 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -0.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- 0 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£13,750
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -3.3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.8 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- 0 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Darwen evidence synthesis: 2023 median house price, House-price growth, 2001 to 2023, Population change, 2001 to 2021
Darwen is recorded as a medium, non-coastal, mixed built-up area, nearer to a major town or city. This classification sets a transparent frame for the three observations below; it is not a persona, a service-area promise or proof of local search demand. Each finding pairs one distinctive percentile measure with one independently selected peer and one explicit validation route.
Eight-metric evidence matrix
The matrix shows every measure used by the peer-distance method, not only the three most distinctive values. Direction describes the published value relative to the middle percentile position; it is not a positive or negative judgement.
Highest-to-lowest percentile order: House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → 2021 population → Population aged under 25 → Economic inactivity → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged 65 or over → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → 2023 median house price.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2023 median house price → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Population aged 65 or over → 2021 population → Population aged under 25 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Economic inactivity.
Regional peer
2023 median house price: £130,000 · Bootle (Sefton) delta £0
Among the eight reviewed measures, 2023 median house price stands out for Darwen at £130,000; its percentile position is 3.6 and its band is lowest decile. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Bootle (Sefton) supplies the regional reference; Darwen is £0 from it on the displayed scale. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting; the next evidence should come from comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees. The boundary is important: a median house price is not a household affordability measure.
Classification peer
House-price growth, 2001 to 2023: 272% · Ilkeston delta +2.6 pp
At 272%, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 places Darwen in the upper quartile and at percentile 85.4 of the reviewed distribution. Using Ilkeston as the classification peer, the profile-minus-peer delta is +2.6 pp; the peer was selected because nearest complete record outside north west with the same ons combined classification. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about how dated economic context is labelled and maintained; the next evidence should come from source-date checks and user tests for interpretation. It must not be over-read, because historic price growth cannot support a current revenue claim.
National peer
Population change, 2001 to 2021: 1.6% · Warmsworth delta +2.3 pp
The reviewed record positions Darwen at percentile 17.4 for population change, 2001 to 2021; its published value is 1.6% and its band is lower quartile. Using Warmsworth as the national peer, the profile-minus-peer delta is +2.3 pp; the peer was selected because nearest remaining complete england record. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for update cadence, ownership and change-ready content models, using dated user research and a documented content-review cycle before changing the information architecture. This remains contextual evidence—historic population change is neither a forecast nor a lead estimate.
Darwen's evidence pattern combines the medium, non-coastal, mixed built-up area, nearer to a major town or city frame with three percentile observations and peer-specific deltas. That combination can make discovery more precise, but it cannot establish what residents want or whether a service has local demand. Decisions should remain reversible until direct research or measured website behaviour confirms them.
06 / Evidence interpretation
Planning signals before design decisions
Population context: 27,323 people in 2021
Darwen's recorded population changed from 26,898 in 2001 to 27,323 in 2021 (+1.6%). This historical direction can inform content governance and capacity planning, but it is not a forecast and does not establish demand for a particular service.
Audience context: 18.2% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 5,047 people aged 0 to 15, 2,782 aged 16 to 24, 14,535 aged 25 to 64 and 4,978 aged 65 or over. Small differences from the headline population reflect the published source series; percentages here use the age-group total and should guide testing questions, not stereotypes.
Activity context: 40.3% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 40.3%. The published composition includes 21.9% retired, 6.8% long-term sick or disabled, 4.1% students and 4.2% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £130,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £34,950 in 2001 to £125,000 in 2021 and £130,000 in 2023, a published change of +272%. It is contextual evidence only—not a current affordability, revenue or customer-value estimate.
07 / Independent question set
Questions this evidence cannot answer on its own
These questions convert the profile-specific observations into falsifiable discovery work. They are not recommendations to create a service, location or page, and each needs direct user or behavioural evidence before it changes a website brief.
- 01
Which real user task would justify changing pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting after seeing Darwen's 2023 median house price position and its £0 difference from Bootle (Sefton)?
Evidence basis: £130,000, lowest decile, with Darwen minus the regional peer equal to £0. Validation route: comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees.
- 02
Before prioritising how dated economic context is labelled and maintained, which part of source-date checks and user tests for interpretation would verify whether this house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 observation matters to users in Darwen?
Ilkeston is the constrained classification reference and is classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Mixed; the question keeps historic price growth cannot support a current revenue claim as an explicit limit.
- 03
If the national peer delta of +2.3 pp is included in a brief, what decision about update cadence, ownership and change-ready content models could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
The prompt combines one distinctive metric with the named national comparator selected by the eight-metric method. It does not treat either record as search, lead or customer evidence.
- 04
For Darwen's medium, non-coastal, mixed built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2023 median house price, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023, population change, 2001 to 2021 be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Bootle (Sefton), Ilkeston, Warmsworth—and define a user-research or behavioural measure for each question before changing navigation, page scope or conversion paths. The observations share one source but do not demonstrate causation.
08 / Practical brief
Website-planning recommendations for this evidence pattern
- 01
Design for mixed local intent
Darwen has a mixed job-density classification. The information architecture should distinguish business, resident and visitor tasks where the organisation actually serves them, while sharing one evidence library so claims remain consistent across journeys.
- 02
Differentiate from the nearby major centre
Darwen is nearer to a major town or city. Use specific offer boundaries, proof and response expectations to explain why the organisation is relevant; do not rely on a place-name heading or create a doorway that simply redirects users to a national service page.
- 03
Build a broad, task-led accessibility baseline
53.2% of the recorded 2021 age-group total is aged 25 to 64, with meaningful younger and older groups also present. Organise content by task, test keyboard and mobile use, and avoid designing around one assumed demographic persona.
- 04
Prioritise clarity before catalogue expansion
Darwen recorded +1.6% population change from 2001 to 2021 and 0% employment change from 2015 to 2024. Start with the few journeys that can be maintained well, instrument meaningful outcomes and expand only when verified questions or search data show a separate need.
09 / Method and limits
What this profile can—and cannot—support
This is a Mosalio editorial interpretation of the ONS May 2026 dataset for BUA24 code E63008053. The source periods differ by metric; values are historical, not live. The profile deliberately excludes ONS experimental visitor-to-resident fields and makes no claim about search volume, rankings, customers, a Mosalio office or physical delivery in Darwen.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Darwen.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Understanding towns in England and Wales, investigating socioeconomic trends, released . This Mosalio interpretation was first published on and last reviewed on .
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How this page was made: Mosalio applies one documented, deterministic transform to the validated ONS record, calculates the displayed comparisons, and renders the result from source-controlled data. It is an automated public-data resource, not individually commissioned local market research. A portfolio-level editorial-value review checks every profile's source identity, distinctive metrics, peer evidence, synthesis and planning questions before index eligibility can be enabled.
Analysis basis: Midrank percentile across all accepted England records; a higher percentile means a higher published value, not a better outcome. Root-mean-square Euclidean distance across eight clipped robust z-scores; population and 2023 house price are log-transformed before median/MAD scaling.