The Classification of Workplace Zones for England and Wales (COWZ-EW) is a geodemographic classification of the characteristics of Workplace Zones (WZs), based on data from the 2011 Census of England and Wales. It categorises WZs based on their similarity in terms of a range of census variables.

48 Census variables were selected for their ability to differentiate different types of workers and workplaces, and a k-means clustering technique was used to generate 7 Supergroups and subdivide each of these into a varying number of Groups, giving 29 Groups in total. More details on the methodology can be found in the User Guide (available from the Download link above).

Status: This is an interim product (for England and Wales) released in response to strong user interest whilst a full UK-wide classification is being developed.

Adapted from data from the Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. 2011 Census Workplace Zone boundaries, 2011 Census data tables © Crown copyright and database right 2015