UK Composite Urban Rural Classification (RUC)
Version: 2.3.0. This is the latest version. See all versions.
Description
UK-wide dataset of the urban/rural nature of small-areas (LSOA/DZ/SOAs)
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Table: Composite Rural/Urban Classification
Description:
Combined metric for all four UK nations of rural/urban classification for small statistical areas.
Data description
| Column name | Data type | Description | Unique | Required values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lsoa | string | 2010-era statistical small area geography. LSOA for England/Wales, Datazone for Scotland, SOA for Northern Ireland | Yes | |
| ukruc-2 | integer | Two fold scale: 0-Urban/1-Rural | No | 0, 1 |
| ukruc-3 | integer | Three fold scale: 0-Urban/1-Rural/2-More Rural | No | 0, 1, 2 |
| nation | string | Single letter description of UK Nation | No | E, N, S, W |
| pop | integer | Population of small area | No | |
| area | number | KM square area of small area | Yes | |
| density | number | Population density in people per km | No | |
| density_pop_decile | integer | Small areas divided into 10 deciles by population density. Each decile has equal population. | No | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| density_pop_quintile | integer | Small areas divided into 5 quintiles by population density. Each quintile has equal population. | No | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
| density_area_decile | integer | Small areas divided into 10 deciles by area. Each decile has equal area. | No | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 |
| density_area_quintile | integer | Small areas divided into 5 quintiles by area. Each quintile has equal area. | No | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 |
Table: Local Authority RUC Profile
Description:
Based on LSOA information, a RUC label and profile for each local authority.
Data description
| Column name | Data type | Description | Unique | Required values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| local-authority-code | string | Three/four letter code for a local authority. | Yes | |
| official-name | string | Standard name of local authority. | Yes | |
| highly-rural | number | Percentage of the population of an authority that live in a highly rural LSOA | No | |
| rural | number | Percentage of the population of an authority that live in a rural LSOA | No | |
| urban | number | Percentage of the population of an authority that live in an urban LSOA | No | |
| ruc-cluster-label | string | Local authorities grouped into four clusters based on the different profiles of the three figures. | No | Rural, Sparse and rural, Urban, Urban with rural areas |
Table: Westminster Constituency RUC Profile (2025 Constituencies)
Description:
Based on urban/rural classification of LSOAs, a RUC label and profile for each Westminster constituency (2025 constituencies).
Data description
| Column name | Data type | Description | Unique | Required values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| parl25 | string | Short codes from https://pages.mysociety.org/2025-constituencies/datasets/parliament_con_2025/latest | Yes | |
| constituency-name | string | Name of constituency | Yes | |
| highly_rural | number | Percentage of population who live in highly rural LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| rural | number | Percentage of population who live in rural LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| urban | number | Percentage of population who live in urban LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| label | string | Constituencies grouped into four clusters based on the different profiles of the three figures. | No | Rural, Sparse and rural, Urban, Urban with rural areas |
Table: Westminster Constituency RUC Profile
Description:
Based on urban/rural classification of LSOAs, a RUC label and profile for each Westminster constituency.
Data description
| Column name | Data type | Description | Unique | Required values |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| gss-code | string | GSS code for 2010-set Westminster Parliamentary constituencies | Yes | |
| constituency-name | string | Name of constituency | Yes | |
| highly-rural | number | Percentage of population who live in highly rural LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| rural | number | Percentage of population who live in rural LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| urban | number | Percentage of population who live in urban LSOAs in constituency | No | |
| ruc-cluster-label | string | Constituencies grouped into four clusters based on the different profiles of the three figures. | No | Rural, Sparse and rural, Urban, Urban with rural areas |
Change log
2.3.0
Change in data for resource(s): la_ruc
2.2.0
New resource(s) added: pcon_2025_ruc,pcon_ruc
2.1.0
Release 2023 council data
2.1.0-futurecouncils
2.0.0
Tidied LA RUC profile, and added constituency RUC profiles
1.1.0
New resource(s) added: la_ruc
1.0.1
keywords changed from 'None' to '['Geodata', 'United Kingdom', 'LSOA']'
1.0.0
Existing dataset, bump to supported version
0.1.0
Don't need to increment, first version