Beneath the headlines lie six million individual stories about young people. Their opportunities and outcomes vary significantly where they live.
We have analysed data for each of England’s local and combined authorities to quantify and better understand these inequalities. We have shown this through a new Youth Opportunity Index for England, updating our previous Index from 2018. This updated Index includes analysis at the combined authority level, bringing new insights into the opportunities young people have.
The Youth Opportunity Index brings together data on educational achievement at age 16 (Key Stage 4), attainment of Level 3 by age 19, access to higher education, take up of apprenticeships, employment rates, a measure of the quality of work (net underemployment), and the number of 16-17-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
It shows a diverse picture and allows us to dig down below the national figures to understand where the opportunity gaps are largest and what is driving them. They are the result of socioeconomic factors, economic circumstance and national policy, as well as local services.
Explore the data for England via an interactive map, by local education authority table, regional table, or combined authority table. The results can be filtered by specific region or specific subject.
About the Youth Opportunity Index
The Index gives a relative measure of education and employment opportunities for young people across England’s local and combined authorities. The score for each area reflects how its performance compares with the best-performing area in the country; the higher the score, the better the performance. Results are presented as a heatmap, with darker shades representing higher scores.
- Overall index. The average score across all indices. It gives an overall comparative measure of the education and employment opportunities for young people living in each local area.
- GCSE attainment index. Attainment of GCSE-level qualifications by young people resident in a local area.
- Level 3 attainment index. The proportion of young people resident in a local area qualified to Level 3 by age 19.
- Progression to higher education index. The proportion of 15-year-olds in a local area entering higher education by age 19.
- Apprenticeship starts index. Apprenticeship starts as a proportion of 16-24s in a local area.
- NEET index. The proportion of 16–17-year-olds not in education, employment or training.
- Employment index. Employment rates for 23–28-year-olds.
- Net underemployment index. This measure is the balance between the numbers of young people wanting to work more hours and the numbers wanting to work fewer hours.
Interactive maps for the Youth Opportunity Index 2025
Use this interactive map to explore the Youth Opportunity Index maps for local authorities. Hover over the map to see the index scores for a local authority, scroll to zoom in and out, or select a quartile to highlight local authorities with similar index scores for each measure. Use the arrows below the map to explore different measures included in the Youth Opportunity Index.
Interactive tables for the Youth Opportunity Index 2025: local authorities
Use this table to explore the ranked performance and scores of local areas for each index. These can be filtered by region or combined authority area using the drop-down menu below the table. Use the arrows below the table to move between rank and score.
Interactive tables for the Youth Opportunity Index 2025: combined authorities
Use this table to explore the ranked performance and scores of local areas for each index. These can be filtered by region or combined authority area using the drop-down menu below the table. Use the arrows below the table to move between rank and score.
