Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) - 2025
What are the indices of deprivation?
The English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (IoD25) are a set of indicators designed to assess and compare relative levels of deprivation across small areas in England, known as lower-layer super-output areas (LSOAs).
The IoD25 was published on 31 October 2025 by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG). This updates the 2019 index. However, caution is advised when comparing across years due to changes in geographies and indicators.
IoD25 refers to the broader family of deprivation indices, comprising seven separate domains or indices of deprivation. These indices are combined and weighted to create the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD25). This is the most widely used index and serves as the official measure of deprivation in England, providing a single, composite measure by combining multiple domains.
- Income deprivation (supplementary indices: income deprivation affecting children and income deprivation affecting older people)
- Employment deprivation
- Education, skills and training deprivation (subdomains: children and young people, and adult skills)
- Health deprivation and disability
- Crime
- Barriers to housing and services (subdomains: geographical barriers and wider barriers)
- Living environment (subdomains: indoors and outdoors)
Every small area (LSOA) in England is ranked from 1 (most deprived nationally ) to 33,755 (least deprived nationally). Alongside a rank a deprivation decile is assigned to each LSOA in England, decile 1 indicates the area is in the most deprived 10% of LSOAs nationally, and decile 10 indicates an area is within the 10% least deprived.
A range of summary indicators is also available for higher-level geographies, including local authorities.
Key facts
- Shropshire ranks 154th out of 296 lower-tier local authorities (rank of average rank), 1 being the most deprived. Please note that although Shropshire has increased in relative rankings, this doesn't mean Shropshire is more absolutely deprived than in 2019, only that other local authorities have become relatively less deprived on this measure. In addition, the total number of authorities has reduced since 2019 which may account for some differences
- Shropshire ranks 103rd out of 153 upper-tier local authorities (rank of average rank), 1 being the most deprived
- Overall, two LSOAs in Shropshire are within the 10% most deprived nationally and nine are in the 20% most deprived nationally
- 1% of the Shropshire population live in neighbourhoods ranked within the 10% most deprived nationally. (England 10%)
- 16.8% of the population live in neighbourhoods which are classed as income deprived (England 23%)
- 29% of children aged 0-15 are living in income-deprived families in Shropshire (36% England)
- 12% of older people (aged 60+) are classed as income deprived in Shropshire (18.6% England)
- Shropshire is relatively more deprived compared to most local authorities for 'barriers to services', ranking 37th most deprived. 63 LSOAs are within the 10% most deprived nationally. This is driven mainly by geographical barriers
- Shropshire is relatively more deprived for the living environment domain (housing) - this is largely driven by the indoor living environment. Shropshire ranks 75th most deprived for this domain
- The most deprived electoral ward in Shropshire is Harlescott, Shrewsbury
- In 2019 nine (4.6% of the population) LSOAs were within the 20% most deprived nationally for the IMD. In 2025 this had risen to 11 (5.5% of the population)