An Introduction to Geography Levels in Colchester
In England, to make data more manageable and relevant to local populations, areas
have been split into manageable 'chunks'.
There are a large number of different ways to break these chunks down, however,
where possible we like to report at the lowest level possible, as this provides the
highest level of detail. For most of our data analysis we use the following areas:
Local Authority: Our Local Authority Code is E07000071 (previously 22UG)
This level covers the whole of the Colchester Borough, and is useful for comparing to
other local authorities, at a regional and national level. The current boundary has
been established for over 20 years.
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Wards:
To break the borough down further we use Census Area Statistics (CAS) ward
boundaries. There are 27 wards in Colchester. Ward boundaries have changed
over the years however, these are the most up to date boundaries.
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Middle Layer Super Output Areas (MSOAs):
In 2004 when their boundaries were defined, MSOAs had a minimum population of
5,000 and an average population of 7,200. They are built from groups of Lower Layer
SOAs (see below). Following the 2011 Census, there are 20 MSOAs in Colchester;
MSOAs DO NOT ALWAYS fit with ward boundaries. Data analysis is available at
this level, but we mostly produce information at Lower Layer Super Output Area
level.
Lower Layer Super Output Areas (LSOAs):
Following the 2011 census there are 105 LSOAs in the borough and 32,844 in
England. In 2004 when the boundaries were defined, LSOAs had an average
population of 1,500 people (between 1,300 and 2,800 people) and ‘fit’ into the
existing ward boundaries. Each of our wards is made of between one and six LSOAs
depending on the population size of the ward. We often refer to LSOAs as ‘small
areas’, and have given them local names for ease of interpretation (rather than their
ONS code). Local names and LSOA codes can be found in the Excel document
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So, generally speaking our geography breakdown looks like this:
England
Colchester
Borough
27 Colchester
Wards
20 Colchester
MSOAs
105 Colchester
LSOAs