E63010190 /West Midlands evidence profile
West Midlands evidence profile
Rugby digital planning profile
Rugby is a large, non-coastal built-up area in West Midlands. ONS records show a 2021 population of 77,440; the population expanded quickly between 2001 and 2021, while the 2015 to 2024 employment series shows modest employment growth. 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
- E63010190
- ITL1 region
- West Midlands
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Medium deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
16.6% above the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
3.1% above the 0% dataset median.
44.5% 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
Upper quartile · percentile position 89.5 of 100.
Lower quartile · percentile position 11.3 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 87.1 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: sha256:05ffea6a5f4…4b5aef1f0e97
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 Rugby minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Rugby is higher.
Regional peer
Burton upon Trent · E63009360
West Midlands. Nearest complete record in West Midlands. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +1,409 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +2.8 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -2.9 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +0.5 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£87,250
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +43.7 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -2.1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.7 pp
Classification peer
Walkden · E63008329
North West. Nearest complete record outside West Midlands with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Medium deprivation - Mixed.
- 2021 population
- +58,756 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +13.3 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -2.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -16.9 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£20,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +11.3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +1.6 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -1.1 pp
National peer
Kettering · E63010129
East Midlands. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Further - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +14,291 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +4.1 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -2 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +3.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£25,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +2.7 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.6 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.4 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Rugby evidence synthesis: 2021 population, Economic inactivity, Population change, 2001 to 2021
Rugby is recorded as a large, 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: 2021 population → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population aged under 25 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over → Economic inactivity.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population aged 65 or over → Population aged under 25 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → 2023 median house price.
Regional peer
2021 population: 77,440 · Burton upon Trent delta +1,409 people
For 2021 population, the source reports 77,440 for Rugby. That sits in the upper quartile, 39.5 percentile points from the middle position. Using Burton upon Trent as the regional peer, the profile-minus-peer delta is +1,409 people; the peer was selected because nearest complete record in west midlands. Treat this combination as a hypothesis about content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, and test it through task-frequency interviews and observed completion data. Keep the inference narrow: population size does not establish addressable demand.
Classification peer
Economic inactivity: 33.5% · Walkden delta -2.1 pp
Rugby's economic inactivity is 33.5%, a lower quartile result at percentile 11.3 among 936 complete England records. The same-source classification check uses Walkden, classified as Nearer - Medium deprivation - Mixed. The Rugby-minus-Walkden delta on this metric is -2.1 pp. This evidence can narrow a discovery question around assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes, while accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence supplies the user-level check the aggregate data cannot provide. Keep the inference narrow: an aggregate inactivity rate cannot describe an individual visitor.
National peer
Population change, 2001 to 2021: 27.8% · Kettering delta +4.1 pp
Population change, 2001 to 2021 is one of Rugby's three furthest-from-middle observations: 27.8%, percentile 87.1, upper quartile. Kettering, the named national peer from East Midlands, differs by +4.1 pp when the calculation is Rugby minus peer. Nearest remaining complete England record. For planning, document the observation beside update cadence, ownership and change-ready content models and require dated user research and a documented content-review cycle before treating the idea as an accepted requirement. The responsible interpretation stops short of intent: historic population change is neither a forecast nor a lead estimate.
The distinctive metrics are not interchangeable: 2021 population, economic inactivity, population change, 2001 to 2021 each raise a different planning question when read beside Burton upon Trent, Walkden, Kettering. For Rugby, 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: 77,440 people in 2021
Rugby's recorded population changed from 60,573 in 2001 to 77,440 in 2021 (+27.8%). 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: 16.9% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 15,128 people aged 0 to 15, 7,162 aged 16 to 24, 42,115 aged 25 to 64 and 13,069 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: 33.5% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 33.5%. The published composition includes 20.3% retired, 3.3% long-term sick or disabled, 4% students and 3.7% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £270,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £73,250 in 2001 to £245,000 in 2021 and £270,000 in 2023, a published change of +268.6%. 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
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 Rugby?
This question is traceable to 2021 population at percentile 89.5 and a +1,409 people profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 02
Which real user task would justify changing assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes after seeing Rugby's economic inactivity position and its -2.1 pp difference from Walkden?
Evidence basis: 33.5%, lower quartile, with Rugby minus the classification peer equal to -2.1 pp. Validation route: accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence.
- 03
Which real user task would justify changing update cadence, ownership and change-ready content models after seeing Rugby's population change, 2001 to 2021 position and its +4.1 pp difference from Kettering?
This question is traceable to population change, 2001 to 2021 at percentile 87.1 and a +4.1 pp profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 04
For Rugby's large, non-coastal, mixed built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2021 population, economic inactivity, 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—Burton upon Trent, Walkden, Kettering—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
Rugby 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
Rugby 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
54.4% 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
Prepare the content model for change
Rugby recorded +27.8% population change from 2001 to 2021 and +3.1% 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 E63010190. 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 Rugby.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Rugby.
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.