England and Wales Census 2021 - TS052: Occupancy rating for bedrooms

This dataset provides Census 2021 estimates that classify households in England and Wales by occupancy rating based on the number of bedrooms in the household. The estimates are as at Census Day, 21 March 2021.

Area type

Census 2021 statistics are published for a number of different geographies. These can be large, for example the whole of England, or small, for example an output area (OA), the lowest level of geography for which statistics are produced.

For higher levels of geography, more detailed statistics can be produced. When a lower level of geography is used, such as output areas (which have a minimum of 100 persons), the statistics produced have less detail. This is to protect the confidentiality of people and ensure that individuals or their characteristics cannot be identified.

Coverage

Census 2021 statistics are published for the whole of England and Wales. Data are also available in these geographic types:

  • country - for example, Wales
  • region - for example, London
  • local authority - for example, Cornwall
  • health area – for example, Clinical Commissioning Group
  • statistical area - for example, MSOA or LSOA

Occupancy rating for bedrooms (6 categories)

Whether a household's accommodation is overcrowded, ideally occupied or under-occupied. This is calculated by comparing the number of bedrooms the household requires to the number of available bedrooms.

The number of bedrooms the household requires is calculated according to the Bedroom Standard, where the following should have their own bedroom:

  1. married or cohabiting couple

  2. single parent

  3. person aged 16 years and over

  4. pair of same-sex persons aged 10 to 15 years

  5. person aged 10 to 15 years paired with a person under 10 years of the same sex

  6. pair of children aged under 10 years, regardless of their sex

  7. person aged under 16 years who cannot share a bedroom with someone in 4, 5 or 6 above

An occupancy rating of:

  • -1 or less implies that a household’s accommodation has fewer bedrooms than required (overcrowded)

  • +1 or more implies that a household’s accommodation has more bedrooms than required (under-occupied)

  • 0 suggests that a household’s accommodation has an ideal number of bedrooms

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Last Updated May 9, 2023, 09:25 (BST)
Created January 6, 2023, 15:42 (GMT)
Visibility Public
Year 2021
Topics Accommodation and housing
Units Households
Geographic Layer Census Electoral Divisions
Census Wards
Counties
Countries
Integrated Care Boards
Local Authorities
Local Health Boards
London Boroughs
Lower Super Output Areas
Lower Tier Local Authorities
Metropolitan Districts
Middle Super Output Areas
NHS England Regions
Non-Metropolitan Districts
Output Areas
Regions
Sub Integrated Care Board Locations
Unitary Authorities
Upper Tier Local Authorities
Westminster Parliamentary Constituencies
Frequency Decennial
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Citation Office for National Statistics; National Records of Scotland; Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency; UK Data Service. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5257/census/aggregate-2021-1
Geographical Coverage Location England and Wales
Granularity Country level down to OA
Geographic Spatial data {"geo_type": "polygon", "lat": "52.4036", "lon": "-1.93872", "left": "-6.53687", "top": "55.8275", "right": "1.98853", "bottom": "49.6694", "srid": null, "accuracy": null, "source": null}