E63013860 /South West evidence profile
South West evidence profile
Poole digital planning profile
Poole is a large, coastal built-up area in South West. ONS records show a 2021 population of 141,009; 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
- E63013860
- ITL1 region
- South West
- Coastal
- Coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Medium deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
0.3% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
6.6% above the 0% dataset median.
17.1% 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
Highest decile · percentile position 95.7 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 75.5 of 100.
Middle half · percentile position 27.4 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:da7e7a9d702…bcbccd4c9d36
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 Poole minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Poole is higher.
Regional peer
Weston-super-Mare · E63012444
South West. Nearest complete record in South West. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Mixed.
- 2021 population
- +56,409 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -2 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.6 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +0.3 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£105,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +4.5 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -1.1 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.4 pp
Classification peer
Worthing · E63013691
South East. Nearest complete record outside South West with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Medium deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +29,887 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -2.7 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.9 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +0.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£5,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -42.8 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.4 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +0.1 pp
National peer
Royal Sutton Coldfield · E63009880
West Midlands. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Lower deprivation - Mixed.
- 2021 population
- +47,335 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +3.6 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -0.3 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -0.3 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£5,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +17.2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.8 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.5 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Poole evidence synthesis: 2021 population, 2023 median house price, Population aged under 25
Poole is recorded as a large, 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: 2021 population → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population aged under 25.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2021 population → 2023 median house price → Population aged under 25 → Population aged 65 or over → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021.
Regional peer
2021 population: 141,009 · Weston-super-Mare delta +56,409 people
Poole's 2021 population is 141,009, a highest decile result at percentile 95.7 among 936 complete England records. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Weston-super-Mare supplies the regional reference; Poole is +56,409 people from it on the displayed scale. 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. It must not be over-read, because population size does not establish addressable demand.
Classification peer
2023 median house price: £350,000 · Worthing delta -£5,000
The reviewed record positions Poole at percentile 75.5 for 2023 median house price; its published value is £350,000 and its band is upper quartile. Using Worthing as the classification peer, the profile-minus-peer delta is -£5,000; the peer was selected because nearest complete record outside south west with the same ons combined classification. For planning, document the observation beside pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting and require comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees before treating the idea as an accepted requirement. The boundary is important: a median house price is not a household affordability measure.
National peer
Population aged under 25: 25.9% · Royal Sutton Coldfield delta -0.8 pp
At 25.9%, population aged under 25 places Poole in the middle half and at percentile 27.4 of the reviewed distribution. Royal Sutton Coldfield, the named national peer from West Midlands, differs by -0.8 pp when the calculation is Poole minus peer. Nearest remaining complete England record. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for mobile task speed, privacy explanation and channel continuity, using cross-device usability sessions without age-based assumptions before changing the information architecture. This remains contextual evidence—an age-group share does not determine channel preference.
The distinctive metrics are not interchangeable: 2021 population, 2023 median house price, population aged under 25 each raise a different planning question when read beside Weston-super-Mare, Worthing, Royal Sutton Coldfield. For Poole, 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: 141,009 people in 2021
Poole's recorded population changed from 127,096 in 2001 to 141,009 in 2021 (+10.9%). 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: 22.7% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 24,260 people aged 0 to 15, 12,256 aged 16 to 24, 72,512 aged 25 to 64 and 31,960 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: 40.1% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 40.1%. The published composition includes 26.5% retired, 3.7% long-term sick or disabled, 3.6% students and 4% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £350,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £114,000 in 2001 to £327,000 in 2021 and £350,000 in 2023, a published change of +207%. 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
How should a prototype test content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions without assuming that Poole's percentile 95.7 position predicts an individual user's needs?
This question is traceable to 2021 population at percentile 95.7 and a +56,409 people profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 02
If the classification peer delta of -£5,000 is included in a brief, what decision about pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
This question is traceable to 2023 median house price at percentile 75.5 and a -£5,000 profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 03
If the national peer delta of -0.8 pp is included in a brief, what decision about mobile task speed, privacy explanation and channel continuity could it inform and what result would falsify that hypothesis?
Royal Sutton Coldfield is the constrained national reference and is classified as Nearer - Lower deprivation - Mixed; the question keeps an age-group share does not determine channel preference as an explicit limit.
- 04
For Poole's large, coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2021 population, 2023 median house price, population aged under 25 be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Weston-super-Mare, Worthing, Royal Sutton Coldfield—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
Poole 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
Poole 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
Prepare the content model for change
Poole recorded +10.9% population change from 2001 to 2021 and +6.6% 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 E63013860. 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 Poole.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Poole.
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.