E63013173 /South West evidence profile
South West evidence profile
Salisbury digital planning profile
Salisbury is a medium, non-coastal built-up area in South West. ONS records show a 2021 population of 47,690; the population grew steadily 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
- E63013173
- ITL1 region
- South West
- Coastal
- Non-coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Medium deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
1.2% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
in line with the 0% dataset median.
76.1% 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
Lowest decile · percentile position 3.6 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 80.6 of 100.
Middle half · percentile position 33 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: sha256:19c623a1747…0da3920e420e
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 Salisbury minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Salisbury is higher.
Regional peer
Stratton St Margaret · E63011948
South West. Nearest complete record in South West. ONS classification: Nearer - Medium deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +26,138 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +1.6 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -0.3 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -7.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£25,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -7.2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +1.2 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.4 pp
Classification peer
Bury St Edmunds · E63010423
East of England. Nearest complete record outside South West with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Further - Medium deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +6,411 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -7.1 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -0.8 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -6.5 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£7,500
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -84.4 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.3 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.2 pp
National peer
Abingdon-on-Thames · E63011776
South East. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +14,511 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +4 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +3.2 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +5.6 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£31,250
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -11.7 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +2 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Salisbury evidence synthesis: House-price growth, 2001 to 2023, 2021 population, Economic inactivity
Salisbury is recorded as a medium, non-coastal, working built-up area, further from 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 → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population aged under 25 → Economic inactivity → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → 2021 population → Economic inactivity → Population aged under 25 → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population change, 2001 to 2021.
Regional peer
House-price growth, 2001 to 2023: 148% · Stratton St Margaret delta -7.2 pp
Salisbury's house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 is 148%, a lowest decile result at percentile 3.6 among 936 complete England records. The same-source regional check uses Stratton St Margaret, classified as Nearer - Medium deprivation - Working. The Salisbury-minus-Stratton St Margaret delta on this metric is -7.2 pp. 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. This remains contextual evidence—historic price growth cannot support a current revenue claim.
Classification peer
2021 population: 47,690 · Bury St Edmunds delta +6,411 people
Among the eight reviewed measures, 2021 population stands out for Salisbury at 47,690; its percentile position is 80.6 and its band is upper quartile. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Bury St Edmunds supplies the classification reference; Salisbury is +6,411 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. The boundary is important: population size does not establish addressable demand.
National peer
Economic inactivity: 37.5% · Abingdon-on-Thames delta +3.2 pp
Among the eight reviewed measures, economic inactivity stands out for Salisbury at 37.5%; its percentile position is 33 and its band is middle half. Abingdon-on-Thames, the named national peer from South East, differs by +3.2 pp when the calculation is Salisbury minus peer. Nearest remaining complete England record. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes, using accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence before changing the information architecture. No user or market conclusion follows automatically; an aggregate inactivity rate cannot describe an individual visitor.
The distinctive metrics are not interchangeable: house-price growth, 2001 to 2023, 2021 population, economic inactivity each raise a different planning question when read beside Stratton St Margaret, Bury St Edmunds, Abingdon-on-Thames. For Salisbury, 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: 47,690 people in 2021
Salisbury's recorded population changed from 43,355 in 2001 to 47,690 in 2021 (+10%). 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% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 8,400 people aged 0 to 15, 4,118 aged 16 to 24, 24,675 aged 25 to 64 and 10,494 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: 37.5% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 37.5%. The published composition includes 24.6% retired, 3.6% long-term sick or disabled, 3.3% students and 3.5% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £305,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £123,000 in 2001 to £285,000 in 2021 and £305,000 in 2023, a published change of +148%. 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 house-price growth, 2001 to 2023 contrast between Salisbury and Stratton St Margaret should alter how dated economic context is labelled and maintained, rather than remain background context?
Evidence basis: 148%, lowest decile, with Salisbury minus the regional peer equal to -7.2 pp. Validation route: source-date checks and user tests for interpretation.
- 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 Salisbury?
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
Where should the team record uncertainty when using Salisbury's economic inactivity value and the Abingdon-on-Thames comparison to discuss assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes?
Abingdon-on-Thames is the constrained national reference and is classified as Nearer - Lower deprivation - Working; the question keeps an aggregate inactivity rate cannot describe an individual visitor as an explicit limit.
- 04
For Salisbury's medium, non-coastal, working built-up area, further from a major town or city classification, how should house-price growth, 2001 to 2023, 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—Stratton St Margaret, Bury St Edmunds, Abingdon-on-Thames—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
Salisbury 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
Let the page complete the decision remotely
Salisbury is further from a major town or city in the ONS classification. Put scope, process, timelines, accessibility options and meeting arrangements on the page so a user can evaluate fit without assuming a nearby branch or travelling for basic information.
- 03
Treat readability as a conversion requirement
22% 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
Prepare the content model for change
Salisbury recorded +10% population change from 2001 to 2021 and 0% 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 E63013173. 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 Salisbury.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Salisbury.
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.