E63009088 /East Midlands evidence profile
East Midlands evidence profile
Nottingham digital planning profile
Nottingham is a major, non-coastal built-up area in East Midlands. ONS records show a 2021 population of 299,786; the population expanded quickly between 2001 and 2021, while the 2015 to 2024 employment series shows a modest employment contraction. 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
- E63009088
- ITL1 region
- East Midlands
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
11.7% above the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
1.4% below the 0% dataset median.
25% 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
Highest decile · percentile position 99.3 of 100.
Highest decile · percentile position 99 of 100.
Lowest decile · percentile position 2.2 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: sha256:8cd750ba3a9…25fa8e364bd6
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 Nottingham minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Nottingham is higher.
Regional peer
Loughborough · E63009412
East Midlands. Nearest complete record in East Midlands. ONS classification: Nearer - Medium deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +235,487 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +6.5 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -3.5 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -7.9 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£60,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -0.9 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.7 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -3.3 pp
Classification peer
Birmingham · E63010038
West Midlands. Nearest complete record outside East Midlands with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- -820,000 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +5.9 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +1.5 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -20.5 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£30,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +13.2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +4 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -1.3 pp
National peer
Bradford · E63007920
Yorkshire and The Humber. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Mixed.
- 2021 population
- -34,182 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +1.9 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +1.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -5.2 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£50,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +42.3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +2.4 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.3 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Nottingham evidence synthesis: Population aged under 25, 2021 population, Population aged 65 or over
Nottingham is recorded as a major, non-coastal, working 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: Population aged under 25 → 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: Population aged under 25 → 2021 population → Population aged 65 or over → Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → 2023 median house price → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023.
Regional peer
Population aged under 25: 41.1% · Loughborough delta -0.7 pp
Among the eight reviewed measures, population aged under 25 stands out for Nottingham at 41.1%; its percentile position is 99.3 and its band is highest decile. Loughborough, the named regional peer from East Midlands, differs by -0.7 pp when the calculation is Nottingham minus peer. Nearest complete record in East Midlands. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about mobile task speed, privacy explanation and channel continuity; the next evidence should come from cross-device usability sessions without age-based assumptions. This remains contextual evidence—an age-group share does not determine channel preference.
Classification peer
2021 population: 299,786 · Birmingham delta -820,000 people
The reviewed record positions Nottingham at percentile 99 for 2021 population; its published value is 299,786 and its band is highest decile. The same-source classification check uses Birmingham, classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working. The Nottingham-minus-Birmingham delta on this metric is -820,000 people. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions; the next evidence should come from task-frequency interviews and observed completion data. The responsible interpretation stops short of intent: population size does not establish addressable demand.
National peer
Population aged 65 or over: 11.3% · Bradford delta -0.3 pp
Nottingham's population aged 65 or over is 11.3%, a lowest decile result at percentile 2.2 among 936 complete England records. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Bradford supplies the national reference; Nottingham is -0.3 pp from it on the displayed scale. This evidence can narrow a discovery question around readability, keyboard access and assisted alternatives, while inclusive usability sessions and accessibility conformance checks supplies the user-level check the aggregate data cannot provide. The boundary is important: an age-group share does not determine digital ability.
This synthesis gives Nottingham a bounded evidence trail: three furthest-from-middle measures, three named peers and the major, non-coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification. The combination is useful for deciding what to investigate, not for predicting enquiries. A website brief should preserve the source dates, validation method and reasons for accepting or rejecting each hypothesis.
06 / Evidence interpretation
Planning signals before design decisions
Population context: 299,786 people in 2021
Nottingham's recorded population changed from 244,017 in 2001 to 299,786 in 2021 (+22.9%). 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: 11.3% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 54,807 people aged 0 to 15, 68,294 aged 16 to 24, 142,830 aged 25 to 64 and 33,758 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: 46.1% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 46.1%. The published composition includes 12.8% retired, 5.4% long-term sick or disabled, 18.6% students and 5.4% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £185,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £53,000 in 2001 to £170,000 in 2021 and £185,000 in 2023, a published change of +249.1%. 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
Where should the team record uncertainty when using Nottingham's population aged under 25 value and the Loughborough comparison to discuss mobile task speed, privacy explanation and channel continuity?
The prompt combines one distinctive metric with the named regional comparator selected by the eight-metric method. It does not treat either record as search, lead or customer evidence.
- 02
Before prioritising content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, which part of task-frequency interviews and observed completion data would verify whether this 2021 population observation matters to users in Nottingham?
Evidence basis: 299,786, highest decile, with Nottingham minus the classification peer equal to -820,000 people. Validation route: task-frequency interviews and observed completion data.
- 03
If the national peer delta of -0.3 pp is included in a brief, what decision about readability, keyboard access and assisted alternatives could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
Bradford is the constrained national reference and is classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Mixed; the question keeps an age-group share does not determine digital ability as an explicit limit.
- 04
For Nottingham's major, non-coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should population aged under 25, 2021 population, population aged 65 or over be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Loughborough, Birmingham, Bradford—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
Separate employer and customer journeys
Nottingham is classified as a working town. A useful website brief should separate recruitment, procurement and customer tasks, then give each journey its own proof, contact route and success measure instead of forcing every visitor through one generic enquiry page.
- 02
Differentiate from the nearby major centre
Nottingham 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
Support quick comparison without hiding detail
41.1% of the recorded 2021 age-group total is under 25. Lead with concise task summaries and responsive performance, while keeping fees, eligibility, privacy and next steps available in the same journey rather than behind a social-only channel.
- 04
Prepare the content model for change
Nottingham recorded +22.9% population change from 2001 to 2021 and -1.4% employment change from 2015 to 2024. Use owned templates, update dates, accountable content roles and measurable conversion events so the site can evolve without publishing unreviewed route permutations.
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 E63009088. 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 Nottingham.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Nottingham.
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.