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Indices of Deprivation 2025
The English Indices of Deprivation, published since 2000, are a set of measures that score and rank every small area in England by relative deprivation. These indices help government, local authorities, and organisations identify areas that may need extra support or resources.
The Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) is the primary and most widely used measure within the Indices of Deprivation. As the seven domains of deprivation are weighted and combined into a single score (see the infographic below for weightings). IMD is often used for funding decisions, policy targeting, and research because it provides an overall picture of deprivation.
You can use the tool below to explore the 2025 Indices of deprivation covering the relative measures of deprivation for small areas (Lower-layer Super Output Areas) across England, based on:
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- Income Deprivation
- Employment Deprivation
- Education, Skills and Training Deprivation
- Health and Disability Deprivation
- Crime Deprivation
- Barriers to Housing and Services Deprivation
- Living Environment Deprivation
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There are also Two supplementary indices available for;
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- Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI)
- Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI)
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The deciles showing on this interactive tool from Gov.uk have been calculated by ranking the 33,755 neighbourhoods in England from most deprived to least deprived and dividing them into 10 equal groups (i.e. each containing 3,375 or 3,376 neighbourhoods). These deciles range from the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods nationally to the least deprived 10% of neighbourhoods nationally.
If you are interested in seeing the deprivation scores for a specific LSOA you can do so by using a postcode within that LSOA to explore Local Deprivation information .
Interpretation & Caveats
Relative Measure: The Indices of Deprivation are relative – they show how areas compare to each other at a point in time. They do not measure absolute levels of deprivation or poverty, nor do they show how much deprivation has changed in absolute terms.
Major Methodological Updates: The overall domain structure and weighting remain unchanged from 2019, supporting broad comparability. However, the number of indicators has risen from 39 to 55, with 20 new and 14 significantly enhanced indicators. Many data sources have been refreshed or replaced, and some domains- such as Income – have seen major methodological changes (e.g. assessing income after housing costs, rather than before housing costs as in previous releases). Domains like Crime, Barriers to Housing & Services, and Living Environment have expanded with new indicators (e.g. anti-social behaviour, broadband connectivity, GP ratio, energy performance, outdoor space, noise pollution). Changes in indicators mean that trends between 2019 and 2025 may reflect methodological updates rather than genuine differences and should therefore be interpreted with caution.
Geographical Changes: The number of Local Authority areas has changed between 2019 and 2025 from 317 in 2019 to 296 in 2025, and the 2025 indices use updated 2021 LSOA boundaries. About 6% of LSOA boundaries have changed. This affects direct trend comparisons, as some areas may have been split, merged, or had their boundaries redrawn.
Domain Currency Varies: Not all indicators within each domain are from the same year. Some use the most recent data available, while others rely on earlier sources (e.g. Census 2021 for some indicators). This means that the “currency” of data varies across domains and even within domains.
If you want to read a short brief giving information about the changes that have taken place you can See the English deprivation data in 2025: What has changed? published by the House of Commons Library, or for a more detailed explanation of the changes See the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 Technical Report.
Borough Infographic
Borough Level Findings
Between 2015 and 2025, Richmond consistently ranked among the 10% least deprived local authorities in England. In 2025, it is placed 282nd out of 296 local authority districts – within the least deprived 5% nationally – and remains the least deprived London borough.
Richmond continues to rank least deprived nationally for Education, Skills & Training.
In London, Richmond ranks as the least deprived borough across several domains including Income, Employment and Health Deprivation & Disability.
Richmond is now the least deprived local authority in England for Barriers to Housing & Services, and ranks in the least deprived quarter nationally for the Crime domain (second least deprived among London boroughs). These improvements in national rankings for both domains have been seen across most London boroughs.
In 2025, Richmond ranks among the 5% most deprived local authorities nationally for the Living Environment domain and sits within the most deprived quarter of London boroughs– a worsening of relative national ranking also seen across much of London.
Methodological changes are likely to have contributed to the changes above as the Crime, Barriers to Housing & Services and Living Environment domains have all undergone major changes to indicators.
For the Income of Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI), Richmond is in the 1% least deprived nationally (top 5 local authorities) – the average score for the borough indicates that 16% of children are affected by income deprivation.
For the Income Deprivation Affecting Older People Index (IDAOPI), Richmond’s relative rank worsened between 2019 and 2025, moving from the 29th to the 38th percentile. The average score indicates that 12% of older people in the borough are affected by income deprivation.
It’s important to note that scores for the Income domain, IDACI, and IDAOPI have been impacted by methodological changes: the income threshold and assessment are now based on an After Housing Costs (AHC) approach, rather than the Before Housing Costs (BHC) approach used in previous releases.
LSOA Level Findings
The Index of Multiple Deprivation is designed to better distinguish between deprived areas than between affluent ones. For this reason, analysis focuses on changes at the more deprived end of the scale.
Similarly to 2015 and 2019, no Richmond LSOAs were ranked amongst the 10% most deprived in England for the IMD – additionally, in 2025, no Richmond LSOAs rank within the 20% most deprived in England.
90% of Richmond’s LSOAs remain in the least deprived half nationally – unchanged since 2019.
35 (30%) LSOAs have moved into a lower decile (i.e. ranked as more deprived). In Heathfield, one LSOA has shifted from the 50% least deprived to the 50% most deprived small areas nationally. An adjacent LSOA, already in the 50% most deprived, has also dropped by one decile (now among 30% most deprived nationally).
20 (17%) LSOAs moved into a higher decile (i.e. ranked as less deprived). In North Richmond, one area moved from the 50% most deprived to the 50% least deprived. In Ham, an LSOA moved up by two deciles, though it remains within the 50% most deprived small areas nationally.