New ONS analysis shows similarities and differences between local authorities 

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published analysis exploring the similarities and differences between local authorities in England – grouping together local authorities with similar characteristics to create ‘clusters’.  

The ONS says that the findings from their analysis “allows users to understand the similarities between local authorities, while providing local authorities with control groups for investigating the impact of policy interventions.” 

A new interactive map allows you to view the data easily (Figure 1) and shows results for each cluster. You can select individual local authorities to highlight their characteristics.  

The map provides analysis of the clusters for a range of themes – economy, connectivity, education, skills, health and well-being. 

It provides insights into some of the North’s characteristics and illustrates some differences between certain areas in the North and South. For example, many of the local authorities that are ‘far below the median’ for health metrics are in the North. These local authorities include urban areas in the North East and North West. On the economy, many of the urban areas in the North are generally in the ‘below the median’ cluster. This data and the new interactive map may be a useful reference tool for members.  

View the ONS interactive map and the subnational indicators data used for this analysis.