DATA: united kingdom: acorn geodemographic discriminator

Introduction

Geodemographic classifications - sometimes called discriminators - use 1991 Census and other data to classify local neighbourhoods in an attempt to:

create a series of clusters which provide the most powerful possible discrimination of consumer behaviour, lifestyles and attitudes
build types which are as recognisable and meaningful as possible to marketers
ensure that each of the types contain sufficient numbers of households to be statistically reliable for most analyses
ensure that each of the types are reasonably homogeneous in terms of demographics and consumer behaviour
avoid an excessive concentration of individual types within particular regions, except where absolutely necessary

Classifications are particularly useful for direct marketing, targeting and demand modelling applications. Geodemographic classifications also offer a mechanism for using survey research data such as BMRB's Target Group Index (TGI) to produce product purchasing estimates.

CACI's ACORN (A Classification of Residential Neighbourhoods) is a geodemographic classification and targeting tool.

'Thriving' ACORN Category (at ED level) in Central London

© Copyright CACI, Bartholomew, Business Geographics

ACORN has been developed from a wide range of data items in the 1991 Census. Key factors such as home ownership, car ownership, health, employment, ethnicity and lifestage are all used to produce a detailed and balanced picture of consumer status.

ACORN data packs

Product	1991 ED/OA or unit postcode level	1991 Ward level	Current postcode sector level
ACORN geodemographic discriminator	Ł10,000.00 per annum	Ł4,500.00 per annum	Ł4,500.00 per annum

ACORN directories at Enumeration District (Output Area level in Scotland), postcode, ward or postcode sector level are licensed for a two year minimum term.

Technical specification

The ACORN classification consists of 6 Categories, 17 Groups and 54 Types (plus 1 'unclassified' in each case).

Category	Group	Type Number	Type Name	% GB Households
Thriving	Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas	1	Wealthy Suburbs, Large Detached Houses	2.2
		2	Villages with Wealthy Commuters	2.8
		3	Mature Affluent Home Owning Areas	2.7
		4	Affluent Suburbs, Older Families	3.4
		5	Mature, Well-Off Suburbs	2.9
	Affluent Greys, Rural Communities	6	Agricultural Villages, Home Based Workers	1.5
	Affluent Greys, Rural Communities	7	Holiday Retreats, Older People, Home Based Workers	0.7
	Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas	8	Home Owning Areas, Well-Off Older Residents	1.5
	Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas	9	Private Flats, Elderly People	1.3
Expanding	Affluent Executives, Family Areas	10	Affluent Working Families with Mortgages	1.8
		11	Affluent Working Couples with Mortgages, New Homes	1.3
		12	Transient Workforces, Living at their Place of Work	0.3
	Well-Off Workers, Family Areas	13	Home Owning Family Areas	2.5
		14	Home Owning Family Areas, Older Children	2.6
		15	Families with Mortgages, Older Children	1.9
Rising	Affluent Urbanites, Town and City Areas	16	Well-Off Town and City Areas	1.1
		17	Flats and Mortgages, Singles and Young Working Couples	0.9
		18	Furnished Flats and Bedsits, Younger Single People	0.5
	Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas	19	Apartments, Young Professional Singles and Couples	1.4
	Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas	20	Gentrified Multi-Ethnic Areas	1.1
	Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas	21	Prosperous Enclaves, Highly Qualified Executives	0.9
		22	Academic Centres, Students and Young Professionals	0.6
		23	Affluent City Centre Areas, Tenements and Flats	0.7
		24	Partially Gentrified Multi-Ethnic Areas	0.8
		25	Converted Flats and Bedsits, Single People	1.0
Settling	Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas	26	Mature Established Home Owning Areas	3.4
		27	Rural Areas, Mixed Occupations	3.4
		28	Established Home Owning Areas	3.9
		29	Home Owning Areas, Council Tenants, Retired People	3.0
	Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas	30	Established Home Owning Areas, Skilled Workers	4.3
		31	Home Owners in Older Properties, Younger Workers	3.2
		32	Home Owning Areas with Skilled Workers	3.3
Aspiring	New Home Owners, Mature Communities	33	Council Areas, Some New Home Owners	3.7
		34	Mature Home Owning Areas, Skilled Workers	3.3
		35	Low Rise Estates, Older Workers, New Home Owners	2.9
	White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi-Ethnic Areas	36	Home Owning Multi-Ethnic Areas, Young Families	1.0
		37	Multi-Occupied Town Centres, Mixed Occupations	2.0
		38	Multi-Ethnic Areas, White Collar Workers	1.0
Striving	Older People, Less Prosperous Areas	39	Home Owners, Small Council Flats, Single Pensioners	2.3
	Older People, Less Prosperous Areas	40	Council Areas, Older People, Health Problems	2.1
	Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes	41	Better-Off Council Areas, New Home Owners	2.0
		42	Council Areas, Young Families, Some New Home Owners	2.7
		43	Council Areas, Young Families, Many Lone Parents	1.6
		44	Multi-Occupied Terraces, Multi-Ethnic Areas	0.7
		45	Low Rise Council Housing, Less Well-Off Families	1.8
		46	Council Areas, Residents with Health Problems	2.1
	Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment	47	Estates with High Unemployment	1.3
		48	Council Flats, Elderly People, Health Problems	1.1
		49	Council Flats, Very High Unemployment, Singles	1.2
	Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship	50	Council Areas, High Unemployment, Lone Parents	1.5
	Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship	51	Council Flats, Greatest Hardship, Many Lone Parents	0.9
	People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas	52	Multi-Ethnic, Large Families, Overcrowding	0.5
		53	Multi-Ethnic, Severe Unemployment, Lone Parents	1.0
		54	Multi-Ethnic, High Unemployment, Overcrowding	0.3

ACORN Categories, Groups and Types provide a matrix of consumer characteristics which is comprehensive enough to define the potential for many marketing and planning operations.