E63013154 /South East evidence profile
South East evidence profile
Horsham digital planning profile
Horsham is a medium, non-coastal built-up area in South East. ONS records show a 2021 population of 50,211; the population grew steadily 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
- E63013154
- ITL1 region
- South East
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Lower deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
1.6% above the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
4.8% above the 0% dataset median.
20.3% 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 83.4 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 81.9 of 100.
Lower quartile · percentile position 22.9 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:bba17a22b35…c124ccf4782b
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 Horsham minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Horsham is higher.
Regional peer
Locks Heath · E63013644
South East. Nearest complete record in South East. ONS classification: Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +15,082 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +1.2 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -1.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +4.8 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£20,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +18.6 pp
- Population aged under 25
- 0 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -1.3 pp
Classification peer
Harrogate · E63007692
Yorkshire and The Humber. Nearest complete record outside South East with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- -25,311 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +8 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -1.7 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +4.8 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£97,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -13.9 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.3 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.2 pp
National peer
East Grinstead · E63013008
South East. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +23,861 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -2.6 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +1.7 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +4.8 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£27,500
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -4.1 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.2 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Horsham evidence synthesis: 2023 median house price, 2021 population, Economic inactivity
Horsham is recorded as a medium, 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: 2023 median house price → 2021 population → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged 65 or over → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population aged under 25 → Economic inactivity.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2023 median house price → 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Population aged under 25 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged 65 or over.
Regional peer
2023 median house price: £395,000 · Locks Heath delta +£20,000
Among the eight reviewed measures, 2023 median house price stands out for Horsham at £395,000; its percentile position is 83.4 and its band is upper quartile. The constrained regional comparison is Locks Heath (E63013644). On this measure, Horsham minus that record is +£20,000; the selection basis is nearest complete record in south east. Use the contrast to prioritise research into pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting. A decision should wait for 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
2021 population: 50,211 · Harrogate delta -25,311 people
The reviewed record positions Horsham at percentile 81.9 for 2021 population; its published value is 50,211 and its band is upper quartile. The same-source classification check uses Harrogate, classified as Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working. The Horsham-minus-Harrogate delta on this metric is -25,311 people. Use the contrast to prioritise research into content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions. A decision should wait for task-frequency interviews and observed completion data. The boundary is important: population size does not establish addressable demand.
National peer
Economic inactivity: 36% · East Grinstead delta +1.7 pp
Economic inactivity is one of Horsham's three furthest-from-middle observations: 36%, percentile 22.9, lower quartile. Against East Grinstead's reviewed national record, the displayed delta is +1.7 pp. That comparator comes from the documented rule: nearest remaining complete england record. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes; the next evidence should come from accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence. It must not be over-read, because an aggregate inactivity rate cannot describe an individual visitor.
Horsham's evidence pattern combines the medium, non-coastal, working 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: 50,211 people in 2021
Horsham's recorded population changed from 44,514 in 2001 to 50,211 in 2021 (+12.8%). 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: 20.8% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 8,846 people aged 0 to 15, 4,151 aged 16 to 24, 26,756 aged 25 to 64 and 10,430 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: 36% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 36%. The published composition includes 24.5% retired, 2.6% long-term sick or disabled, 3.3% students and 3.6% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £395,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £130,000 in 2001 to £375,000 in 2021 and £395,000 in 2023, a published change of +203.8%. 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 2023 median house price contrast between Horsham and Locks Heath should alter pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting, rather than remain background context?
Evidence basis: £395,000, upper quartile, with Horsham minus the regional peer equal to +£20,000. Validation route: comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees.
- 02
What evidence would show that the 2021 population contrast between Horsham and Harrogate should alter content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, rather than remain background context?
The prompt combines one distinctive metric with the named classification comparator selected by the eight-metric method. It does not treat either record as search, lead or customer evidence.
- 03
Before prioritising assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes, which part of accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence would verify whether this economic inactivity observation matters to users in Horsham?
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 Horsham's medium, non-coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2023 median house price, 2021 population, economic inactivity be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Locks Heath, Harrogate, East Grinstead—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
Horsham 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
Horsham 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
53.3% 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
Horsham recorded +12.8% population change from 2001 to 2021 and +4.8% 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 E63013154. 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 Horsham.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Horsham.
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.