How to find official statistics for your local area
Start with ONS Explore local statistics, which lets you search by postcode, council, region or constituency and compare indicators. For jobs, earnings and population, Nomis local authority profiles give a ready-made summary. Local figures often come from small samples, so check which estimate the producer recommends and compare with the wider region.
Step 1: know your geography
Local statistics are published for set areas, and the same postcode sits in several of them: a local authority (council), an electoral ward, a parliamentary constituency, a region, and small statistical areas used by the census. Councils can also be two-tier, with a district and a county. Before searching, note which area a claim refers to. "Leeds" might mean the city council area or the built-up area, and those are different populations.
Step 2: start with ONS Explore local statistics
Explore local statistics is the ONS service for finding, comparing and visualising statistics about places in the UK. When we opened it on 13 October 2026 it offered:
a search box for "a postcode, local authority, region, parliamentary constituency or other named area";
116 local indicators, including household income, further education participation and life satisfaction;
downloads of all its data in XLSX, CSV, CSVW or JSON-Stat formats;
links to the statistics services for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Use it to see what exists for your area, then follow the source link on each indicator to the original release.
Source: Explore local statistics
Step 3: go to the topic source
Jobs, earnings, benefits and population: Nomis local authority profiles , a service provided for the ONS.
Crime: street-level crime maps on police.uk ; see crime in your area and our police and justice data guide .
Health: Fingertips public health profiles by local authority, and our answer on life expectancy in your area .
House prices: the UK House Price Index by local authority; see HM Land Registry data .
Schools: Explore Education Statistics and school performance tables.
Council finances: see what councils spend their money on .
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland: Scottish Government statistics , StatsWales and NISRA .
Sources: Nomis local authority profiles, police.uk, Fingertips, UK House Price Index, Explore Education Statistics, Scottish Government statistics, StatsWales, NISRA
Census data for small areas
The census gives the most detailed local picture, down to small statistical areas of a few hundred households. England and Wales held a census in 2021, Northern Ireland in 2021 and Scotland in 2022, each run by its own statistics body. ONS census data for England and Wales can be explored by area and downloaded; see our answer on where to find census data . Remember that census figures describe the census date, so for current population use the annual mid-year estimates instead.
Worked example: unemployment in Leeds
On 13 October 2026 we opened the Nomis labour market profile for Leeds . To find it, choose "Local Authority Profile" from the Reports menu and pick the area from the list, or search by postcode.
Resident population (2025): 840,550, from the ONS population estimates.
Employment and unemployment (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026) , from the ONS Annual Population Survey: 75.8% of people aged 16 to 64 in employment, against 73.3% for Yorkshire and The Humber and 75.5% for Great Britain. Unemployment: 17,300 people, 4.0% of the economically active.
Model-based unemployment (Apr 2025 to Mar 2026): 19,600 people, 4.6%.
Two unemployment rates for the same place and period appear on the same page. The profile explains why: "Due to small sample sizes involved in the calculation of the APS unemployment estimate, ONS recommends people use the model-based version, which makes use of both survey and administrative data." So the better figure to quote for Leeds is 4.6%, with the period and source.
Note also that the comparison column is Great Britain, not the UK. See Great Britain vs UK and ILO unemployment .
Source: Nomis labour market profile for Leeds
When no statistic exists for your area
Check the council's own open data and transparency pages, such as spending over £500; see council spending over £500 .
Look one level up: a figure for the region or county may be published where the district figure is not, because of sample size or confidentiality.
Ask the body that holds the data. A Freedom of Information request to the council, police force or NHS body can produce a local breakdown; see how to use FOI for fact-checking .
Be cautious with very small numbers. Producers sometimes suppress or round small counts to protect privacy, and a change of a few cases can look like a large percentage change.
Step 4: check how firm a local figure is
Sample size. Survey estimates for small areas have wide margins of error. Look for confidence intervals or symbols marking small samples. The Leeds profile, for instance, marks some estimates with the note "Sample size too small for reliable estimate".
Rates, not totals. Compare areas using rates per head, such as rates per 100,000 , because larger places have larger totals.
Boundaries. Council and constituency boundaries change. Check that two years being compared use the same boundaries.
Where an event is recorded. Some figures are counted where people live, others where they work or where a service is provided.
Checklist
Identified the exact area (council, ward, constituency)
Searched ONS Explore local statistics
Followed each indicator to its original release
Used the estimate the producer recommends
Checked sample size or confidence intervals
Compared with the region or nation using rates
Checked boundaries match across years
Official sources used in this guide
Sources: ONS: Explore local statistics, Nomis: local authority profiles, Nomis: labour market profile for Leeds, Fingertips public health profiles, UK House Price Index, police.uk