E63010061 /West Midlands evidence profile
West Midlands evidence profile
Stourbridge digital planning profile
Stourbridge is a medium, non-coastal built-up area in West Midlands. ONS records show a 2021 population of 56,961; the population remained comparatively stable 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
- E63010061
- ITL1 region
- West Midlands
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
7.7% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
6.3% below the 0% dataset median.
35.6% below 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
Upper quartile · percentile position 84.7 of 100.
Lower quartile · percentile position 19.9 of 100.
Lower quartile · percentile position 20.6 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: sha256:018e48abca3…f84a6397135b
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 Stourbridge minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Stourbridge is higher.
Regional peer
Kingswinford · E63010004
West Midlands. Nearest complete record in West Midlands. ONS classification: Nearer - Medium deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- +5,429 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +2.6 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.7 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -6.3 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£6,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -15.6 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.7 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -1.2 pp
Classification peer
Gosport · E63013756
South East. Nearest complete record outside West Midlands with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- -13,159 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +2.4 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +3.3 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- £0
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -15.5 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.9 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +2.5 pp
National peer
Sedgley · E63009914
West Midlands. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- +24,985 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +2 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.6 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -6.3 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£25,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.8 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Stourbridge evidence synthesis: 2021 population, Employment change, 2015 to 2024, House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
Stourbridge is recorded as a medium, non-coastal, residential 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: 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Population aged 65 or over → 2023 median house price → Population aged under 25 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2021 population → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Economic inactivity → Population aged 65 or over → Population aged under 25 → 2023 median house price.
Regional peer
2021 population: 56,961 · Kingswinford delta +5,429 people
2021 population is one of Stourbridge's three furthest-from-middle observations: 56,961, percentile 84.7, upper quartile. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Kingswinford supplies the regional reference; Stourbridge is +5,429 people from it on the displayed scale. For planning, document the observation beside content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions and require task-frequency interviews and observed completion data before treating the idea as an accepted requirement. No user or market conclusion follows automatically; population size does not establish addressable demand.
Classification peer
Employment change, 2015 to 2024: -6.3% · Gosport delta -1 pp
Stourbridge's employment change, 2015 to 2024 is -6.3%, a lower quartile result at percentile 19.9 among 936 complete England records. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Gosport supplies the classification reference; Stourbridge is -1 pp from it on the displayed scale. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for the separation of employer, worker and customer journeys, using journey interviews plus measured form and contact outcomes before changing the information architecture. The responsible interpretation stops short of intent: employment change does not prove commercial search intent.
National peer
House-price growth, 2001 to 2023: 188.5% · Sedgley delta -2 pp
For house-price growth, 2001 to 2023, the source reports 188.5% for Stourbridge. That sits in the lower quartile, 29.4 percentile points from the middle position. Sedgley, the named national peer from West Midlands, differs by -2 pp when the calculation is Stourbridge minus peer. Nearest remaining complete England record. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for how dated economic context is labelled and maintained, using source-date checks and user tests for interpretation before changing the information architecture. Keep the inference narrow: historic price growth cannot support a current revenue claim.
The distinctive metrics are not interchangeable: 2021 population, employment change, 2015 to 2024, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 each raise a different planning question when read beside Kingswinford, Gosport, Sedgley. For Stourbridge, the safe next step is therefore three small verification tasks rather than one demographic persona, locality claim or generic area-page conclusion.
06 / Evidence interpretation
Planning signals before design decisions
Population context: 56,961 people in 2021
Stourbridge's recorded population changed from 55,035 in 2001 to 56,961 in 2021 (+3.5%). 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: 22.7% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 10,068 people aged 0 to 15, 5,162 aged 16 to 24, 28,753 aged 25 to 64 and 12,943 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: 42.2% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 42.2%. The published composition includes 26.6% retired, 4.1% long-term sick or disabled, 4.3% students and 4.8% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £240,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £83,175 in 2001 to £241,000 in 2021 and £240,000 in 2023, a published change of +188.5%. 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
What evidence would show that the 2021 population contrast between Stourbridge and Kingswinford should alter content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, rather than remain background context?
Evidence basis: 56,961, upper quartile, with Stourbridge minus the regional peer equal to +5,429 people. Validation route: task-frequency interviews and observed completion data.
- 02
How should a prototype test the separation of employer, worker and customer journeys without assuming that Stourbridge's percentile 19.9 position predicts an individual user's needs?
This question is traceable to employment change, 2015 to 2024 at percentile 19.9 and a -1 pp profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 03
If the national peer delta of -2 pp is included in a brief, what decision about how dated economic context is labelled and maintained could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
Evidence basis: 188.5%, lower quartile, with Stourbridge minus the national peer equal to -2 pp. Validation route: source-date checks and user tests for interpretation.
- 04
For Stourbridge's medium, non-coastal, residential built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2021 population, employment change, 2015 to 2024, house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Kingswinford, Gosport, Sedgley—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
Make service boundaries explicit
Stourbridge is classified as residential. Explain delivery areas, remote or on-site conditions, response times and exclusions in visible copy. This reduces ambiguity for residents without inventing a local office or multiplying near-identical neighbourhood pages.
- 02
Differentiate from the nearby major centre
Stourbridge 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
Treat readability as a conversion requirement
22.7% of the recorded 2021 age-group total is aged 65 or over. Use plain language, strong focus states, generous type, keyboard-operable controls and a non-digital contact alternative; validate these choices with real users rather than assuming age determines ability.
- 04
Prioritise clarity before catalogue expansion
Stourbridge recorded +3.5% population change from 2001 to 2021 and -6.3% 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 E63010061. 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 Stourbridge.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Stourbridge.
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.