Free UK place-based profiling tool — deprivation, demographics, employment and more for any postcode or local area. Built by Rose Regeneration and Social Value Engine.
What is Place Explorer?
Enter any UK postcode and instantly generate a detailed place profile combining multiple official government datasets. Designed for policy teams, researchers, grant writers, housing associations, NHS integrated care boards, charities, and social value practitioners who need rapid, evidence-based place profiles for bids, strategies, and community needs assessments.
Data sources
IMD 2025 — English Index of Multiple Deprivation (2025 release): income, employment, education, health, crime, housing and living environment at LSOA level
WIMD 2019 — Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation
SIMD 2020 — Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
Census 2021 — Age, ethnicity, economic activity, qualifications, tenure, social grade and health for England & Wales
Community Life Survey — Social cohesion, volunteering, trust and loneliness indicators at local authority level
GVA — Gross Value Added per head at local authority level (ONS)
BRES — Business Register and Employment Survey: industry-level employee counts at local authority level (2019 and 2024)
Rural-Urban Classification — ONS/Defra classification at LSOA and MSOA level
Key features
Postcode lookup with deprivation decile, domain scores, and national/regional percentile context
All four UK nations — England (IMD 2025), Wales (WIMD), Scotland (SIMD), Northern Ireland (NIMDM)
Local authority dashboards with population pyramids and demographic breakdowns
Side-by-side area comparison tool for multiple local authorities
Interactive choropleth map with LSOA-level deprivation shading
Employment data by industry sector with 2019–2024 change analysis
Social cohesion indicators: community belonging, volunteering rates, loneliness, trust in neighbours
Insights panel identifying statistical anomalies and cross-dataset patterns
Export and share place profiles
Who uses it
Local authorities, housing associations, NHS integrated care boards, universities, charities, and social value practitioners. Free to use — no account required for postcode lookups.
Coverage
All four nations of the United Kingdom. English data is at LSOA level (approximately 1,500 residents per area). Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish data uses equivalent small-area geographies.