Ordering a Population Profile Report? What to consider

In this guide, we've collected some of our most frequently asked questions about Population Profile Reports. If you're thinking of ordering one, do check out the guidance below to ensure the report is as useful for you as possible.

The key difference between the two versions of the report is in the geographic scale the data is broken down to.

Population Profile Report
This version will tell you what the age, ethnicity, Audience Spectrum profile etc looks like for your entire target area.

It's great if you want an overview of the broad characteristics of an area - perhaps to support writing a strategy or funding application.

See an example Population Profile Report >

Population Profile Report Plus 

The Population Profile Report Plus will tell you what the age, ethnicity, Audience Spectrum profile etc looks like for each individual ward in your target area.

This opens up many practical uses in your marketing and audience development - for example:

• Finding specific areas to target your print distribution or outdoor advertising
• Identifying pockets of socio-economic deprivation, or low arts engagement
• Comparing how different parts of your target area compare with others.

See an example Population Profile Report Plus+ >

You'll want to think carefully about these to ensure you get the best value from the data in your report. You can define the areas by distance, local authority boundary, or drivetime.

Target area 

Some examples of target areas and why you might choose them:

• Your current catchment area, ie where the majority of your visitors live. 
  Best if you're looking to understand potential for audience development on your doorstep.
• Local authority (eg county, borough) boundaries. 
  This could be useful if your organisation is funded by your local authority to engage audiences in that area. 
• Another area entirely.
  This may be useful if you're looking to expand your work to a new market, or are taking a show or event on tour.
  
  Please note
• If you are defining your target area by drivetime, this is as the crow flies, and based on the speed limits of the roads - it doesn’t take into account changing traffic conditions throughout the day when speeds could be lower and drivetimes longer. We'd suggest thinking carefully about your local context if you plan to use drivetime.
• If defining your target area by distance, this will be a circular radius with your venue in the centre. Bear in mind, if you're on the coast, then a large part of this area could be the sea (ie have no population to profile!)
• We don’t use walking distances to define an area because they can be inconsistent and difficult to get right. Walking speeds vary, and people often take shortcuts or unrecorded routes, which makes the measure less reliable. Thinking in terms of drivetime usually gives a clearer and more consistent indication of travel to a location.
   

Comparison area

The point of the comparison area is to help you see where your target area is unique. So think about the answers you're looking for - this will help you define the area. For example

• "we want to evidence that the age profile of our borough (target area) is generally younger than the London (comparison area) average."
   
• "We want to demonstrate the levels of cultural engagement in our town (target area) are lower than the North West (comparison area) average."

Population Profile Report Plus reports provide data broken down to ward level. 

Wards are small, defined geographic subdivisions of a council area. For example 'Cardiff - Penylan' and 'Cardiff - Riverside' are two wards in the larger city area of Cardiff.  An average of about 5,500 people live in each ward, but this can vary substantially. Local authority websites usually have a list of the names of wards in their area.

A Population Profile Report Plus is limited to a maximum of 200 wards.

If you prefer, we can alternatively create your report with the data broken down by postcode sector, rather than wards (for an additional fee).

A postcode sector is a specific level of the UK postcode system, consisting of the postcode district, a space, and the first number (e.g., "SW1A 0" in "SW1A 0AA"). There are around 3000 addresses in each postcode sector. 

While the number of people living in either a ward or postcode sector are roughly the same, wards and postcode sectors do not share the same boundaries. 

If you're using drive-time or distance to define your target area, you might notice some small differences in the population data in your report, when compared to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Here's why:

Drive‑time or distance‑based areas are estimates, not exact boundaries. They’re built by piecing together the smallest geographic areas available for each type of data. When you’re looking at a very small target area, these estimates can become more noticeable.

Because of that, some figures may not line up perfectly with the overall population total. This is normal and expected.

 Here’s how it works:

• Most variables are quite accurate
  Most data is available at Output Area (OA) level, which is very small. Because of this, these figures tend to closely match the true population in your area.
• Some variables may look higher or lower than expected
  A few variables are only available at larger geographic levels:
  • MSOA level data (for example: sexual orientation, detailed age breakdowns, national identity)
    These can show noticeably higher or lower totals because MSOAs cover a wider area than your drive‑time boundary.
  • Ward level data (for example: residents of communal establishments and industry of employment)
    These are based on even larger areas, so differences from the overall population figure are more common.

Once you've decided on which report you'd like, and settled on your target and comparison area, fill in this form >

We'll then be in touch to confirm the details of your report, so if you want to change anything at this stage, that's fine.

Once the details are confirmed, we will then create your report and send it to you by email within 14 working days.