E63014082 /South West evidence profile
South West evidence profile
Plymouth digital planning profile
Plymouth is a major, coastal built-up area in South West. ONS records show a 2021 population of 266,970; 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
- E63014082
- ITL1 region
- South West
- Coastal
- Coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
1.3% below the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
9.3% above the 0% dataset median.
0.8% 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 98.5 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 81.8 of 100.
Middle half · percentile position 30.1 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: sha256:031debd3365…228a050e217e
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 Plymouth minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for Plymouth is higher.
Regional peer
Gloucester · E63011389
South West. Nearest complete record in South West. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +148,408 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -9.7 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +4.6 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +1.1 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£35,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- +3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.2 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.2 pp
Classification peer
Wolverhampton · E63009805
West Midlands. Nearest complete record outside South West with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +33,327 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +0.5 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.2 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- -4.2 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£10,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -12.8 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.9 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.7 pp
National peer
Norwich · E63009624
East of England. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +66,478 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- -5.4 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.2 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- +8.4 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£40,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -5.6 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -0.6 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +0.6 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
Plymouth evidence synthesis: 2021 population, Population aged under 25, 2023 median house price
Plymouth is recorded as a major, 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 → Population aged under 25 → Economic inactivity → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Population aged 65 or over → 2023 median house price.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: 2021 population → Population aged under 25 → 2023 median house price → Population aged 65 or over → Economic inactivity → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023.
Regional peer
2021 population: 266,970 · Gloucester delta +148,408 people
Among the eight reviewed measures, 2021 population stands out for Plymouth at 266,970; its percentile position is 98.5 and its band is highest decile. Against Gloucester's reviewed regional record, the displayed delta is +148,408 people. That comparator comes from the documented rule: nearest complete record in south west. This evidence can narrow a discovery question around content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, while task-frequency interviews and observed completion data supplies the user-level check the aggregate data cannot provide. This remains contextual evidence—population size does not establish addressable demand.
Classification peer
Population aged under 25: 30.3% · Wolverhampton delta -0.9 pp
At 30.3%, population aged under 25 places Plymouth in the upper quartile and at percentile 81.8 of the reviewed distribution. The same-source classification check uses Wolverhampton, classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working. The Plymouth-minus-Wolverhampton delta on this metric is -0.9 pp. Its practical use is to frame—not answer—a question about mobile task speed, privacy explanation and channel continuity; the next evidence should come from cross-device usability sessions without age-based assumptions. The boundary is important: an age-group share does not determine channel preference.
National peer
2023 median house price: £210,000 · Norwich delta -£40,000
At £210,000, 2023 median house price places Plymouth in the middle half and at percentile 30.1 of the reviewed distribution. Norwich, the named national peer from East of England, differs by -£40,000 when the calculation is Plymouth minus peer. Nearest remaining complete England record. This evidence can narrow a discovery question around pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting, while comprehension tests using the organisation's real offer and fees supplies the user-level check the aggregate data cannot provide. This remains contextual evidence—a median house price is not a household affordability measure.
The distinctive metrics are not interchangeable: 2021 population, population aged under 25, 2023 median house price each raise a different planning question when read beside Gloucester, Wolverhampton, Norwich. For Plymouth, 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: 266,970 people in 2021
Plymouth's recorded population changed from 243,014 in 2001 to 266,970 in 2021 (+9.9%). 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: 18.5% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 46,316 people aged 0 to 15, 34,588 aged 16 to 24, 136,574 aged 25 to 64 and 49,371 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: 41.2% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 41.2%. The published composition includes 21.8% retired, 5.4% long-term sick or disabled, 7.1% students and 4.2% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £210,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £64,950 in 2001 to £195,000 in 2021 and £210,000 in 2023, a published change of +223.3%. 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 Plymouth and Gloucester should alter content hierarchy and service-capacity assumptions, rather than remain background context?
Gloucester is the constrained regional reference and is classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working; the question keeps population size does not establish addressable demand as an explicit limit.
- 02
If the classification peer delta of -0.9 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?
Wolverhampton is the constrained classification reference and is classified as Nearer - Higher deprivation - Working; the question keeps an age-group share does not determine channel preference as an explicit limit.
- 03
How should a prototype test pricing clarity, qualification steps and expectation setting without assuming that Plymouth's percentile 30.1 position predicts an individual user's needs?
This question is traceable to 2023 median house price at percentile 30.1 and a -£40,000 profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 04
For Plymouth's major, coastal, working built-up area, nearer to a major town or city classification, how should 2021 population, population aged under 25, 2023 median house price be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Gloucester, Wolverhampton, Norwich—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
Plymouth 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
Plymouth 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
Support quick comparison without hiding detail
30.3% of the recorded 2021 age-group total is under 25. Lead with concise task summaries and responsive performance, while keeping fees, eligibility, privacy and next steps available in the same journey rather than behind a social-only channel.
- 04
Prioritise clarity before catalogue expansion
Plymouth recorded +9.9% population change from 2001 to 2021 and +9.3% 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 E63014082. 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 Plymouth.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in Plymouth.
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.