Indices of deprivation (IoD) 2025
The Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG) published the IoD for 2025. These indices show relative deprivation for all 296 local authorities and the 33,755 lower layer statistical output areas (LSOA) of England.
The categories are:
- barriers to housing services
- crime
- education
- employment
- income
- health
- living environment
There are also supplementary indices measuring income deprivation amongst children and older people:
- income affecting children index
- income affecting older people index
Key findings
The list below shows the key findings for Luton. For a more detailed breakdown, click the link to the dashboard at the bottom of the page.
- Overall, Luton is currently ranked the 45th most deprived area out of 296 local authorities. In 2019 Luton was ranked the 70th most deprived area from 317 local authorities. Therefore, Luton is more relatively deprived than in 2019. This is the highest ranking since comparable data began in 2004.
- Income deprivation has worsened significantly since 2019, with Luton now ranked 14th most deprived nationally.
- Child income deprivation is particularly severe, with Luton ranked 9th most deprived.
- Barriers to housing and services remain one of the town's biggest challenges, affecting 51% of residents.
- Health and crime are among Luton’s strongest performing domains and have improved relative to other areas since 2019.
Table showing ranking and primary statistics per domain
This table shows Luton's ranking for all domains, out of all local authorities in the UK. It also includes the primary statistic for each domain.
| Domain | Ranking | Primary statistic per domain |
|---|---|---|
| Children and income | 9th most deprived | Half of neighbourhoods fall within the most deprived 20% nationally |
| Income | 14th most deprived | 47% of neighbourhoods are within the most deprived 20% nationally |
| Housing and services | 24th most deprived | One of Luton's most significant challenges, affecting over half of residents |
| Education | 37th most deprived | Educational deprivation remains significant in parts of the town |
| Older people and income | 40th most deprived | Deprivation concentrated in Beech Hill, Biscot, Central and Northwell |
| Living environment | 45th most deprived | Half of residents live in areas within the most deprived 50% nationally |
| Employment | 81st most deprived | Employment deprivation is lower than income deprivation but remains concentrated in key wards |
| Health | 91st most deprived | One of Luton’s stronger performing domains |
| Crime | 98th most deprived | Significant improvement since 2019 |
Data and dashboard
A detailed breakdown of the data can be found on this dashboard, produced by Bedford Council, that covers the Luton area. Select Luton from the dropdown menu in the top right corner of the dashboard.
Watch this YouTube video to help you understand how to use the data dashboard.