ONS Explore Local Indicators is the official index for choosing which local statistic to explore across the United Kingdom. The page currently lists 109 indicators grouped into themes such as population, economy, housing, education and skills, health and wellbeing, environment, connectivity and crime. For anyone looking for a reliable topic for a local-data map, the useful workflow is to choose an indicator here first, read its short definition and geography label, and only then move into the detailed ONS view.
The page is best understood as an indicator directory rather than a single map containing every local statistic.
What you can find in ONS Explore Local Indicators
The official page offers two simple ways to start. If you already know the indicator you need, the selector at the top lets you go straight to it. If you are still deciding what to investigate, the themed lists are more useful because they show both the indicator name and a short explanation of what it measures.
The Population section includes total population, population density, five-year population change, median age and age-group shares. Economy covers employment, economic inactivity, unemployment, household income, pay, GDP, business activity and research and development. Housing includes average house price and a housing affordability ratio. Environment includes domestic electricity and gas consumption as well as greenhouse gas emissions. Connectivity contains broadband and mobile coverage, transport-access indicators and measures related to nearby amenities.
| Theme | Examples listed by ONS | What to check before mapping |
|---|---|---|
| Population | Total population, population density, five-year population change, median age | Counts and density measure different things and use different units |
| Economy | Employment rate, household income, GDP, business births and deaths | Look for scope labels such as Great Britain or Northern Ireland |
| Housing | Average house price, housing affordability ratio, net additions to housing stock | Some measures are listed separately for England, Wales or Northern Ireland |
| Health and wellbeing | Healthy life expectancy, obesity, life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety | Percentages, scores and age-standardised rates are not interchangeable |
| Environment | Electricity use, gas use, greenhouse gas emissions and ecosystem regulation | Pay attention to whether the measure is consumption, per-capita emissions or monetary value |
| Connectivity | Gigabit broadband, 4G, 5G, EV chargers, travel times and access to amenities | Units range from percentages to counts per population and minutes of travel |
A practical way to find the right local indicator
- Open the official ONS Explore Local Indicators page.
- If you know the exact subject, use the Select an indicator control. If not, browse themes such as Population, Economy, Housing or Environment to narrow the choices.
- Read the one-line definition below the indicator name. It tells you whether the measure is a count, percentage, rate, average, monetary value or another type of statistic.
- Check whether the indicator name includes a geography qualifier. The index contains measures labelled for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland as well as measures without that qualifier.
- Select the indicator and continue to its ONS detail page. Confirm the areas, reference period, units and display options actually available for that indicator before using the numbers in a comparison.
- If you plan to combine several indicators in a project, verify that their geography and time coverage are compatible. Being listed on the same index does not make two series directly comparable.
Indicators that are useful starting points for maps
Some indicators naturally lend themselves to geographic comparison. Population density, defined on the index as the number of residents per square kilometre, can be more informative for a spatial comparison than total population because it accounts for area. Average house price and the housing affordability ratio are possible starting points for housing-market maps, but they represent different concepts and should not be treated as substitutes.
For environmental topics, the index includes greenhouse gas emissions, defined as emissions in tonnes of carbon-dioxide equivalent per person, alongside domestic electricity and gas consumption. For digital connectivity, it lists gigabit capable broadband, 4G coverage and 5G coverage. Travel and access measures include public EV chargers, travel time to an employment centre and the share of residents within a 30-minute walk of a library or railway station. These can all support local comparisons, but their units and geographic availability differ.
The 109 indicators do not all cover the same geography
This is the most important caution on the page. A single directory contains indicators with different territorial scopes. The Economy section, for example, lists separate economic inactivity and employment measures for Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Net additions to housing stock are listed separately for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Apprenticeship indicators also carry country-specific labels for England, Northern Ireland or Scotland.
That means a “UK local map” should not be assembled simply by choosing an interesting indicator name. First check whether the indicator actually covers the nations and local geographies you need. A value labelled for England and a value labelled for Great Britain do not describe the same spatial universe, even if both appear under the same broad topic.
Why the short definitions matter
Each entry has a concise description that helps prevent common interpretation errors. Average house price is a price in pounds, while the housing affordability ratio compares median house prices with median annual residence-based earnings. Employment rate is a percentage of people aged 16 to 64 who are employed, whereas job density is the number of jobs per resident aged 16 to 64. Both relate to the labour market, but they cannot be read as the same kind of measure.
The same applies to environmental and wellbeing statistics. Domestic electricity consumption is measured in kilowatt-hours, greenhouse gas emissions are expressed per person in tCO2e, and life satisfaction, happiness and anxiety are average ratings on a 0-to-10 scale. A clear map title and legend should preserve these definitions rather than reducing every indicator to a generic “score.”
Do not mistake the index for one universal map viewer
The Explore Local Indicators landing page is primarily an index for selecting a measure. It does not present all 109 indicators as layers on one map. This distinction is useful: instead of choosing a visually interesting map and working backwards, you can start with the definition and scope of the statistic, then inspect what the detailed ONS page provides for that indicator.
You should also avoid assuming that every indicator has the same time series or the same level of local detail. After selecting an indicator, check the reference period and the areas actually available. If a place has no value, do not silently convert the absence into zero. In local statistics, “no observation” and “zero” can represent completely different situations.
When this directory is especially useful
The page is particularly useful when you know the subject but not the official ONS series name. Searches such as “UK local population density data,” “official local house price indicator,” “regional greenhouse gas measure,” or “local 5G coverage statistics” can all lead to several possible datasets. The indicator directory gives you a controlled list and a short definition before you commit to one.
For a map-focused workflow, it works well as a screening stage. Keep only indicators whose definition, unit and geography fit the intended comparison. That is more reliable than combining unrelated local statistics simply because they are all available from the same institution.
Official source
The reference page is the Office for National Statistics Explore local indicators directory. The indicator names, short definitions, topic groupings and the current count of 109 indicators described here were checked against that official page. Because ONS can add, remove or revise indicators, use the live page to confirm the latest list when you carry out a new comparison.
Frequently asked questions
Is ONS Explore Local Indicators a map website?
The landing page is better described as an indicator index. It lets you browse 109 local measures by topic and then move to the detailed ONS page for the indicator you choose.
Can all 109 indicators be compared across the whole UK?
No. The directory includes measures explicitly labelled for Great Britain, Northern Ireland, England, Wales or Scotland. Always check the territorial scope before making a UK-wide comparison.
Which indicators are good candidates for local maps?
Population density, average house price, greenhouse gas emissions and broadband or mobile coverage are examples that can support geographic comparison. The actual area coverage and reference period still need to be checked for the selected indicator.
Can I put several different indicators on the same scale?
Only when their units, geography and time period make that comparison meaningful. Percentages, prices, kilowatt-hours, per-capita emissions and travel times measure different things and normally need separate legends or separate visualisations.
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