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Deprivation & opportunity in Dorset

IMD 2019 · 219 LSOAs · MHCLG · OGL v3.0

What is the area opportunity and deprivation level in Dorset?

Dorset has a Gera Area Opportunity Index (GAOI) of 65.1/100 (rank 113 of 313 English local authorities), 7.2 points above the national average of 57.9/100. This places Dorset in the "High Opportunity" tier. Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019 (MHCLG), OGL v3.0.

Proprietary metric:Gera Area Opportunity Index (GAOI/100)·As of September 2019 · updated when MHCLG publishes new IMD (last: )

65.1

GAOI / 100

#113

of 313 English LAs

High Opportunity

Opportunity tier

+7.2

vs England avg (57.9)

Domain breakdown — Dorset

All scores 0–100 (higher = less deprived / more opportunity). Derived from IMD 2019 by inverting and normalising each domain across all 313 English LAs.

GAOI domain sub-scores for Dorset
DomainIMD weightGAOI sub-scoreBar
Income22.5%73.3/100
Employment22.5%68/100
Education13.5%61.3/100
Health13.5%46.6/100
Crime Safety9.3%67.3/100
Housing Access9.3%57.5/100
Environment9.3%76.5/100

Raw mean IMD composite: 15.73 (population-weighted across 219 LSOAs). Population (mid-2015): 370,741.

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Explore Dorset's opportunity profile across all 7 deprivation domains. Toggle custom weighting to see a GAOI tailored to what matters most to you (e.g. prioritise employment and housing when choosing a place to rent).

65.1/100High Opportunity
vs England avg
+7.2 pts

Official ONS-weighted GAOI · Dorset · IMD 2019 source data

Domain breakdown (0 = most deprived, 100 = least deprived)

💷 Income(22.5%)73.3/100
👔 Employment(22.5%)68/100
🎓 Education(13.5%)61.3/100
🏥 Health(13.5%)46.6/100
🔒 Crime Safety(9.3%)67.3/100
🏠 Housing Access(9.3%)57.5/100
🌿 Environment(9.3%)76.5/100

GAOI sub-scores derived from English Indices of Deprivation 2019 (MHCLG, OGL v3.0). Each sub-score = inverted and min-max normalised domain score across all 313 English LAs. Custom weighting is illustrative — not an official statistic.

Questions about Dorset

What is the deprivation level in Dorset?
Dorset has a Gera Area Opportunity Index of 65.1/100 (rank 113 of 313 English LAs), placing it in the "High Opportunity" tier. Its population-weighted mean IMD score is 15.735 (lower IMD = less deprived). The national average IMD is 19.535. Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019, MHCLG, OGL v3.0.
What are the strongest and weakest opportunity domains in Dorset?
In Dorset, the strongest opportunity domains are environment (76.5/100) and income (73.3/100). The domains with most room for improvement are housing access (57.5/100) and health (46.6/100). All scores are 0–100 (higher = less deprived / more opportunity), derived from English Indices of Deprivation 2019 (MHCLG).
How does Dorset compare with the England average for deprivation?
Dorset's GAOI of 65.1/100 is 7.2 points above the England average of 57.9/100, based on the English Indices of Deprivation 2019 (MHCLG). It ranks 113 out of 313 English local authorities (rank 1 = least deprived / highest opportunity).

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Also see: Gera Liveability Index, crime rates by area, and air quality by area.

Source: English Indices of Deprivation 2019 — File 7 (All LSOA Scores, Ranks, Deciles). Published by Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG), September 2019. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. GAOI methodology: https://gerarent.com/methodology/gera-area-opportunity-index. Data as of ; page updated .