Thursday, January 05, 2023

The Land of Generation X

Modal Age by Neighbourhood is an interactive map which visualizes the median age of the population in English and Welsh neghborhoods (middle-layer super output areas), using data from the 2021 census. The map provides a fascinating insight into the average ages of the countries' towns and cities (a Median Age map is also available).

By area of land (but not necessarily by population) England and Wales belongs to Generation X. According to this map in most rural areas of England and Wales the average year of birth comes between 1965 and 1980. However in most of the large towns and cities of England and Wales the largest generational group is Millennials (1981-1996). 

Boomers born 1946-1964 appear to like to retire the coast. The coastlines of Somerset, Devon and Norfolk all contain neighborhoods where the average age is over 56. At the other end of the scale, if you want to find neighborhoods dominated by Gen Z (born 1997-2021) you need to look in University towns.

Alasdair Rae has also been publishing a number of visualizations of census age data to his Twitter stream, including this impressive animated map showing the percentage of people of every age (0-100).

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