Acorn is the leading geodemographic segmentation of residential neighbourhoods in the UK. It classifies each postcode in the country into one of 64 types that give a distinctive picture of the kinds of people who live in an area, their attitudes and how they behave. Acorn types are developed by CACI Ltd using data from many different areas, drawing in new data sources as they become available.
In 2023 the Acorn classification was completely rebuilt to create new segmentation, having new categories, groups and types that reflect recent social, demographic and economic changes.
Acorn classifications are used by public and private sector organisations to pinpoint the people who are most likely to benefit from their products or services, allowing them to improve their understanding of the needs of their customers and service users. Academic researchers can also use Acorn, for example where research needs detailed sociodemographic information. If you are new to using Acorn data for research, this case study from Lancaster University shows how Acorn was used in a project on communities in Morecambe Bay.
Read more about Acorn on the CACI website.
Understanding Society and Acorn
The Understanding Society Acorn dataset contains Acorn geodemographic segmentation codes for each household in the Study, together with a household identification number, allowing it to be linked to the main Understanding Society data files. These data have more restrictive access conditions and are only available under Special Licence. The datafile includes the original 2015 Acorn classifications and the updated 2023 segmentation.
Family and households
