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Local IntelligenceYour community understood

Discover L20Sefton

L20 is mostly in Sefton (92% of its 984 postcodes), with the rest in Liverpool (8%). Figures are for the council area, not for L20 alone
Wards in L20
Figures for
Council area

Map of Sefton

The map needs JavaScript. The figures below do not.

This map outlines Sefton and its wards. Use Full screen for the layers: neighbourhood deprivation (IoD2025, England only) and nearby schools. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

People

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286,281
Resident population · 2024
1.8%
Population change · 2022 to 2024
0.8 percentage points lower than England
North West 2.8%England 2.6%
How do we know this?
FigureSourcePeriodGeographyMethod and limits
Resident population
Estimated usual resident population (mid-year estimate).
Office for National Statistics
Lower layer Super Output Area mid-year population estimates by single year of age (mid-2022 revised, mid-2023, mid-2024)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
2024Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Population change 2022 to 2024 (%)
Percentage change between mid-2022 (revised) and mid-2024.
Office for National Statistics
Lower layer Super Output Area mid-year population estimates by single year of age (mid-2022 revised, mid-2023, mid-2024)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
2022-2024Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Method: Mid-year population estimates

ONS mid-year estimates are modelled from the 2021 Census, births, deaths and migration. Mid-2022 is the revised series. Ages are grouped: 0-15 means ages 0 to 15 inclusive, working age 16-64, 65 and over. Change 2022-2024 compares the revised mid-2022 with mid-2024 estimates for the same boundaries. Scotland and Northern Ireland: mid-year estimates for council areas published by ONS from National Records of Scotland and NISRA (via Nomis), for 2022 to 2024, to match the England and Wales years. No small-area (ward or neighbourhood) estimates are held for them.

Homes

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£230,000
Median sale price · Year to Oct 2025
23% lower than England
North West £225,000England £300,000
4.6%
Change in median sale price · Year to Oct 2025 vs a year earlier
2.9 percentage points higher than England
North West 4.2%England 1.7%
How do we know this?
FigureSourcePeriodGeographyMethod and limits
Median sale price
Median price of homes sold in the 12-month period (needs 10+ sales).
HM Land Registry
Price Paid Data (standard price paid, category A)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, Crown copyright)
Year to Oct 2025Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Change in median sale price over a year
Percentage change in the median between consecutive 12-month windows. Not mix-adjusted.
HM Land Registry
Price Paid Data (standard price paid, category A)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (HM Land Registry Price Paid Data, Crown copyright)
Year to Oct 2025 vs Year to Oct 2024Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Method: Price paid medians

Sales are mapped from postcode to each geography exactly. The headline is the median sale price over the latest 12 COMPLETE months (a month is complete when national standard sales are at least 85% of the average of the 24 months before it; currently November 2024 to October 2025) and the 12 months before that. Months after that (Nov 2025 onward in the April 2026 extract) are still being registered and are excluded. Yearly medians use complete calendar years 2016-2024. Medians need at least 10 sales; sales counts are published for any area. Medians describe homes that sold, not all homes, and are not adjusted for the mix of property types, so a change in the median can reflect what was sold. Registration lags completion, so recent months can be revised up. Only standard price paid sales (category A) are included.

Education

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116
Schools in the area · Oct 2026
93.8%
Graded schools rated Good or Outstanding · 31 Aug 2026
2.6 percentage points higher than England
North West 89.7%England 91.2%
How do we know this?
FigureSourcePeriodGeographyMethod and limits
Schools in the area
Open schools (excluding children's centres) with a postcode in the area.
Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data
Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)
Oct 2026Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Graded schools rated Good or Outstanding
Share of schools with a 1-4 Ofsted grade that are Outstanding or Good.
Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data
Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)
as at 31 Aug 2026Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
Method: Schools in an area

Each open school is located by the postcode of its GIAS record, so it belongs to exactly one postcode district, ward, built-up area, constituency, council and so on. A school is counted where it is, not where its pupils live; pupils often cross boundaries. Children's centres are excluded. Phase and type are the GIAS labels grouped for display.

Method: Pupil-weighted school measures

FSM, SEN and absence percentages are school-level figures averaged with school roll (January 2026 census) as the weight; KS2 and KS4 measures are averaged with the number of eligible pupils (KS2) or the KS4 cohort as the weight. This equals the share of pupils in the area's schools, not of pupils living in the area. The England value uses the same method on the same files and is the comparator. Suppressed school values are skipped, so coverage differs by measure (the number of schools used is in the notes). Ofsted outcomes are the latest overall grade on record at 31 August 2026; schools inspected under the new report-card framework may carry no single grade.

Economy

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£748
Median weekly pay, full-time employees living here · 2025
3% lower than England
North West £735England £770
91,000
Jobs located in the area · 2024
Fewer jobs per head than England here 0.54
North West 0.76England 0.77
How do we know this?
FigureSourcePeriodGeographyMethod and limits
Median gross weekly pay, full-time employees living here
Median gross weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area (ASHE, place of residence). Cash terms, not inflation adjusted.
Office for National Statistics
Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), via Nomis: tables 7 (place of work) and 8 (place of residence)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
2025Sefton (Council area)direct, medium quality
Coefficient of variation 5.7%.
Jobs located in the area (BRES employment)
Employees plus working owners at workplaces in the area (BRES). Rounded; place of work, not residence.
Office for National Statistics
Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), open access, via Nomis
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
2024Sefton (Council area)direct, high quality
Rounded by ONS. Compared through jobs per working-age resident (2024): North West 0.76, England 0.77, here 0.54.
Method: Earnings from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings

ASHE is a 1% sample of employee jobs from HMRC PAYE records, with a reference week in April. We hold the median gross pay of full-time employees, by place of residence (where the employee lives) and by place of work (where the job is), for the latest survey year and the years back to 2015. Median weekly pay is gross pay before tax for the pay period that includes the reference date; annual pay is gross annual pay for the year to April. Pay is in cash terms: it is not adjusted for inflation, so changes over time include price rises. Survey estimates have a margin of error that grows as areas get smaller; each value carries its coefficient of variation and values with a CV above 10% are marked low quality. Estimates ONS judges too unreliable (CV above about 40%) are not published and appear here as absent. Self-employed people are not covered. Residence-based figures describe people who live in the area wherever they work; workplace-based figures describe jobs located in the area wherever the employee lives. The two can differ a lot in commuter areas and city centres.

Method: Employment by industry (BRES)

BRES is the official source of employee and employment estimates by detailed industry and area. Employment is employees plus working owners, counted at the place of work and in the survey week in September. It covers all sectors except small farm agriculture, and the self-employed who are not registered for PAYE or VAT. ONS rounds BRES employment and suppresses small cells, so industry sums may not add to the total. Jobs here are not residents: people may live elsewhere. Part-time and full-time jobs count equally (they are not full-time equivalents).

Community

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75.7 per 1,000
Recorded crime per 1,000 residents · Year to Apr 2026
6% lower than England
England 80.7 per 1,000
469
Charities registered here · Oct 2026
Fewer than England here 1.6 per 1,000
North West 2.1 per 1,000England 2.7 per 1,000
How do we know this?
FigureSourcePeriodGeographyMethod and limits
Recorded crime (excluding anti-social behaviour) per 1,000 residents
police.uk crime categories except anti-social behaviour, 12 months, per 1,000 residents.
Police forces of England and Wales via data.police.uk
Street-level crime (12 monthly files)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
Year to Apr 2026Sefton (Council area)aggregated, high quality
12 months to April 2026. 0.0% of Merseyside Police records have no location and are excluded.
Charities based in the area
Registered charities whose registered address is in the area.
Charity Commission for England and Wales; OSCR (Scotland); Charity Commission for Northern Ireland
Registers of charities (registered address, latest income, charitable purposes)
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (Charity Commission, OSCR and CCNI terms apply: not the register itself, no direct marketing)
Oct 2026Sefton (Council area)aggregated, medium quality
By registered address. Counts charities by their registered contact address (often a trustee or a head office), not where they work. England and Wales register only. Compared through charities based per 1,000 residents (Oct 2026): North West 2.1 per 1,000, England 2.7 per 1,000, here 1.6 per 1,000.
Method: Recorded street crime per 1,000 residents

Counts of crimes in police.uk street-level data for May 2025 to April 2026, matched to 2021 LSOAs by the LSOA code on each record, then split to output areas by population and rolled up (see the area apportioning method). Rates are crimes per 1,000 residents (mid-2024 population) and describe where crimes were recorded, not who committed them or where victims live. High rates occur where many non-residents pass through (town centres, transport hubs, nightlife), so they are not a measure of risk to residents. Crimes with no location (blank LSOA) are excluded; the excluded share by force is in the notes. Greater Manchester Police data are absent from the extract, so those areas have no value. Categories follow police.uk. Anti-social behaviour is incident data, not crime proper, and is included only in the "all categories" rate. 12 months only: no trend is possible and seasonal effects are included.

Method: Charities in an area

A charity is placed by the postcode of its registered/contact address (or the nearest postcode to its geocoded address; some are placed by the nearest postcode to a geocoded address), so counts show where charities are based, not where they work: a national charity with a London address is counted in London. Income is the latest annual income on the register, summed; it is dominated by a few very large charities. "Declaring the area" counts charities that name the local authority (or its county) as an area of operation on the register; it does not mean services are delivered everywhere in that area. Registered charities only; unregistered community groups, small charities below the registration threshold and removed charities are not counted.

The future

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How much of the work residents do generally available AI tools could speed up

  • A small part 52.3%
  • Some 18.6%
  • Much 27.8%
  • Not yet assessed 1.3%

CareerMash staging data (11 Oct 2026), approved by the owner for this preview, subject to change; not yet independently validated

What stands out about this place?

Findings where this place differs most from its surroundings, with the evidence behind each one. A difference is not a verdict: it is a prompt to look closer.

Educationmedium confidence

Wide range between wards in Sefton: Pupils eligible for free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals (2025/26) varies within Sefton: from 10.4% in Great Crosby to 56.7% in Bootle West, across 22 wards. The upper tenth of wards is 35.6 percentage points above the lower tenth.

Bootle West figure

56.7% Bootle West10.4% Great Crosby
How do we know this?
Source
Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data: Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes (Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool))
Period
2025/26
Geography
Ward, compared with lowest-value ward (Great Crosby)
Method
Pupil-weighted school measures. FSM, SEN and absence percentages are school-level figures averaged with school roll (January 2026 census) as the weight; KS2 and KS4 measures are averaged with the number of eligible pupils (KS2) or the KS4 cohort as the weight. This equals the share of pupils in the area's schools, not of pupils living in the area. The England value uses the same method on the same files and is the comparator. Suppressed school values are skipped, so coverage differs by measure (the number of schools used is in the notes). Ofsted outcomes are the latest overall grade on record at 31 August 2026; schools inspected under the new report-card framework may carry no single grade.
Limitations
  • Ward and neighbourhood boundaries differ in size; the range shows variation within the area, not a ranking of places.
See Education
Economymedium confidence

Lower than England: Change in jobs located in the area over five years

Change in jobs located in the area over five years is -5.2% in Sefton (2019..2024), compared with 4.7% in England (9.9 percentage points lower).

-5.2% here4.7% England
How do we know this?
Source
Office for National Statistics: Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES), open access, via Nomis (Open Government Licence v3.0)
Period
2019..2024
Geography
Council area, compared with England
Method
Employment by industry (BRES). BRES is the official source of employee and employment estimates by detailed industry and area. Employment is employees plus working owners, counted at the place of work and in the survey week in September. It covers all sectors except small farm agriculture, and the self-employed who are not registered for PAYE or VAT. ONS rounds BRES employment and suppresses small cells, so industry sums may not add to the total. Jobs here are not residents: people may live elsewhere. Part-time and full-time jobs count equally (they are not full-time equivalents).
Limitations
  • Rounded inputs; the 2020 to 2021 pandemic years lie inside this window.
See Economy
Homeshigh confidence

Lower than England: Average monthly private rent

Average monthly private rent is £938 in Sefton (Aug 2026), compared with £1,459 in England (36% lower).

£938 here£1,459 England
How do we know this?
Source
Office for National Statistics: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0)
Period
Aug 2026
Geography
Council area, compared with England
Method
Private rents (PIPR). The ONS Price Index of Private Rents measures the change in rents paid by private tenants, and publishes an average (mean) monthly rent per local authority from the same data. The figure is a mean, not a median, so a few very high rents pull it up, especially in London and where there are few lettings. It covers rents paid for homes let on the private market (not social rents) and reflects all tenancies in the stock, not only new lets, except in Scotland where the underlying data are mainly advertised new lets, which makes Scotland not directly comparable with England and Wales. Annual change is the change in the rental price index, not in the cash average. Rents are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation. Averages by number of bedrooms are held for the latest month only.
Limitations
  • Mean, not median.
See Living here
Neighbourhoodshigh confidence

Higher than England: Share of residents living in the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall)

Share of residents living in the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall) is 18.5% in Sefton (2025), compared with 10.2% in England (8.3 percentage points higher; n = 286,281).

18.5% here10.2% England
How do we know this?
Source
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
Period
2025
Geography
Council area, compared with England
Method
Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
Limitations
none recorded
See Living here
Economymedium confidence

Increase between 2022 and 2025: Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area

Median weekly pay of full-time employees who live in the area in Sefton went from £594 (2022) to £748 (2025): up 26% (not adjusted for inflation), compared with up 18.7% in England.

£748 here£594 same place, 2022
How do we know this?
Source
Office for National Statistics: Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE), via Nomis: tables 7 (place of work) and 8 (place of residence) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
Period
2025
Geography
Council area, compared with same place, 2022
Method
Earnings from the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings. ASHE is a 1% sample of employee jobs from HMRC PAYE records, with a reference week in April. We hold the median gross pay of full-time employees, by place of residence (where the employee lives) and by place of work (where the job is), for the latest survey year and the years back to 2015. Median weekly pay is gross pay before tax for the pay period that includes the reference date; annual pay is gross annual pay for the year to April. Pay is in cash terms: it is not adjusted for inflation, so changes over time include price rises. Survey estimates have a margin of error that grows as areas get smaller; each value carries its coefficient of variation and values with a CV above 10% are marked low quality. Estimates ONS judges too unreliable (CV above about 40%) are not published and appear here as absent. Self-employed people are not covered. Residence-based figures describe people who live in the area wherever they work; workplace-based figures describe jobs located in the area wherever the employee lives. The two can differ a lot in commuter areas and city centres.
Limitations
  • Coefficient of variation 5.7%. Coefficient of variation 4.3%.
  • Prices are nominal and not adjusted for inflation or for changes in the mix of homes sold.
See Economy
Homeshigh confidence

Higher than North West: Change in planning applications received on the year before

Change in planning applications received on the year before is 4.7% in Sefton (Year to Jun 2026), compared with -4.6% in North West (9.3 percentage points higher).

4.7% here-4.6% North West
How do we know this?
Source
Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (now Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government): Planning application statistics: live tables PS1 and PS2 (district matters) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
Period
Year to Jun 2026
Geography
Council area, compared with North West
Method
Planning application decisions. Local planning authorities report to government every quarter how many applications for planning permission (district matters: housing, commercial and other development, excluding minerals and waste) they decided, how many they granted and refused, and how many were decided within the statutory time or an agreed extension. We add the four most recent complete quarters (July 2025 to June 2026) and compare with the four before. Percentage granted is granted divided by all decisions, which includes applications withdrawn only if reported as decided; it is a measure of the mix of applications a council receives, not of how fair or permissive it is, because many applications are refused for good reason or amended before decision. Speed is the share decided in time among decisions not covered by a planning performance agreement, shown separately for major developments (10 or more homes, or sites over 1 hectare) and for minor and other applications. Few major decisions are made each year in most authorities, so major-development figures rest on small numbers. National Park authorities and development corporations are separate planning authorities and are not included in the council totals. Wales (Welsh Government development management survey): major plus minor and householder applications over April 2025 to March 2026, summed from four quarterly returns; other consents, pre-application cases and non-material amendments are excluded. "Decided in time" covers all applications and consents decided within the statutory period or an agreed extension. Denbighshire did not supply data. Scotland (Scottish Government annual planning statistics): all applications decided in the financial year 2024/25 (the 2025/26 annual release is not yet out); the share approved is of all applications decided; "local developments decided within two months" and average weeks are for local developments without a processing agreement. Northern Ireland (Department for Infrastructure): applications received and decided by each council in 2025/26, and the share approved of those decided. Each nation counts and classifies applications differently, so the figures describe each nation's own system and should not be compared across borders.
Limitations
  • Coverage: England: local planning authorities (district matters), councils only here. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own sources.
  • Covers the 12-month window Year to Jun 2026 only.
See Living here

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Registered offices are not operating locations. Ranks and deciles are never averaged. Census 2021 figures are labelled 2021.