E63014099 /South West evidence profile
South West evidence profile
St Austell digital planning profile
St Austell is a medium, coastal built-up area in South West. ONS records show a 2021 population of 24,361; the population expanded quickly 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
- E63014099
- ITL1 region
- South West
- Coastal
- Coastal
- Income-deprivation flag
- Higher deprivation
02 / Context
Three comparisons, with the benchmark stated
10.3% above the 11.2% median across complete England records in this ONS file.
in line with the 0% dataset median.
11.6% 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 80.3 of 100.
Upper quartile · percentile position 79.9 of 100.
Middle half · percentile position 69.4 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: sha256:337b784085d…b5b13cd6522d
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 St Austell minus the named peer; a plus sign means the value recorded for St Austell is higher.
Regional peer
Camborne · E63014169
South West. Nearest complete record in South West. ONS classification: Further - Higher deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- +3,916 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +0.8 pp
- Economic inactivity
- -0.1 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- 0 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£50,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -21.1 pp
- Population aged under 25
- -1.3 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- +1.8 pp
Classification peer
Sudbury · E63010924
East of England. Nearest complete record outside South West with the same ONS combined classification. ONS classification: Further - Higher deprivation - Working.
- 2021 population
- +439 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +3 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +3.3 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- 0 pp
- 2023 median house price
- -£37,250
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -44.3 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.2 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -0.1 pp
National peer
March · E63009878
East of England. Nearest remaining complete England record. ONS classification: Further - Higher deprivation - Residential.
- 2021 population
- +3,319 people
- Population change, 2001 to 2021
- +4.9 pp
- Economic inactivity
- +0.4 pp
- Employment change, 2015 to 2024
- 0 pp
- 2023 median house price
- +£25,000
- House-price growth, 2001 to 2023
- -9.2 pp
- Population aged under 25
- +0.8 pp
- Population aged 65 or over
- -1.6 pp
05 / Evidence synthesis
St Austell evidence synthesis: Economic inactivity, Population change, 2001 to 2021, Population aged 65 or over
St Austell is recorded as a medium, 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: Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Population aged 65 or over → 2021 population → 2023 median house price → Population aged under 25 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Employment change, 2015 to 2024.
Furthest-to-nearest distance from the middle percentile: Economic inactivity → Population change, 2001 to 2021 → Population aged 65 or over → 2021 population → Employment change, 2015 to 2024 → House-price growth, 2001 to 2023 → Population aged under 25 → 2023 median house price.
Regional peer
Economic inactivity: 43.9% · Camborne delta -0.1 pp
For economic inactivity, the source reports 43.9% for St Austell. That sits in the upper quartile, 30.3 percentile points from the middle position. For a bounded comparison rather than a national average, Camborne supplies the regional reference; St Austell is -0.1 pp from it on the displayed scale. 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. This remains contextual evidence—an aggregate inactivity rate cannot describe an individual visitor.
Classification peer
Population change, 2001 to 2021: 21.5% · Sudbury delta +3 pp
St Austell's population change, 2001 to 2021 is 21.5%, a upper quartile result at percentile 79.9 among 936 complete England records. Sudbury, the named classification peer from East of England, differs by +3 pp when the calculation is St Austell minus peer. Nearest complete record outside South West with the same ONS combined classification. 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. It must not be over-read, because historic population change is neither a forecast nor a lead estimate.
National peer
Population aged 65 or over: 22.9% · March delta -1.6 pp
Population aged 65 or over is one of St Austell's three furthest-from-middle observations: 22.9%, percentile 69.4, middle half. Against March's reviewed national record, the displayed delta is -1.6 pp. That comparator comes from the documented rule: nearest remaining complete england record. A defensible brief can turn the pair into a verification task for readability, keyboard access and assisted alternatives, using inclusive usability sessions and accessibility conformance checks before changing the information architecture. This remains contextual evidence—an age-group share does not determine digital ability.
St Austell's evidence pattern combines the medium, coastal, working built-up area, further from 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: 24,361 people in 2021
St Austell's recorded population changed from 20,045 in 2001 to 24,361 in 2021 (+21.5%). 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: 22.9% aged 65 or over
The 2021 age-group series records 4,327 people aged 0 to 15, 2,243 aged 16 to 24, 12,202 aged 25 to 64 and 5,587 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: 43.9% economically inactive
ONS records economic inactivity at 43.9%. The published composition includes 27.4% retired, 6% long-term sick or disabled, 3.3% students and 4.4% looking after home or family. These categories support inclusive task design; they do not identify individual users or purchasing intent.
Economic context: £250,000 median house price in 2023
The median house-price series moved from £80,000 in 2001 to £227,500 in 2021 and £250,000 in 2023, a published change of +212.5%. 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
Where should the team record uncertainty when using St Austell's economic inactivity value and the Camborne comparison to discuss assisted, accessible and non-digital completion routes?
Evidence basis: 43.9%, upper quartile, with St Austell minus the regional peer equal to -0.1 pp. Validation route: accessibility testing across real tasks and support-channel evidence.
- 02
Which real user task would justify changing update cadence, ownership and change-ready content models after seeing St Austell's population change, 2001 to 2021 position and its +3 pp difference from Sudbury?
Sudbury is the constrained classification reference and is classified as Further - Higher deprivation - Working; the question keeps historic population change is neither a forecast nor a lead estimate as an explicit limit.
- 03
Before prioritising readability, keyboard access and assisted alternatives, which part of inclusive usability sessions and accessibility conformance checks would verify whether this population aged 65 or over observation matters to users in St Austell?
This question is traceable to population aged 65 or over at percentile 69.4 and a -1.6 pp profile-minus-peer difference, not to inferred local behaviour.
- 04
For St Austell's medium, coastal, working built-up area, further from a major town or city classification, how should economic inactivity, population change, 2001 to 2021, population aged 65 or over be tested as separate website hypotheses without turning the combined pattern into a claim about local demand?
Cross-check all three named comparisons—Camborne, Sudbury, March—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
St Austell 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
St Austell 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
22.9% 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
St Austell recorded +21.5% 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 E63014099. 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 St Austell.
Mosalio does not claim an office, staff member, customer, or physical-delivery presence in St Austell.
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.