The new English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2025
The English Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) 2025 has been published, providing the first update to deprivation rankings in six years.
For those unfamiliar, the IMD ranks every small area in England from most to least deprived across seven domains: income, employment, education, health, crime, barriers to housing & services, and living environment. It’s important to remember that these are relative rankings, comparing areas to each other rather than measuring deprivation in absolute terms.
The 2025 update introduces new and refined measures across all domains and, for the first time, includes a dedicated rural analysis. This looks at connectivity, transport, and digital access to better reflect challenges in rural communities, providing a more thorough consideration of rural deprivation.
While methodological changes mean the IMD shouldn’t be viewed as a strict time series, comparing the 2019 and 2025 indices still offers valuable insight into how structural deprivation persists over time.
To understand what this means for your region please click the links below (further regions to be added in due course).
The West Midlands (forthcoming)
The East Midlands (forthcoming)
Deprivation is complex and structural, and understanding it requires both data and context. If you’d like to explore what the new IMD means for your local area, get in touch – we’d be happy to discuss.
