It is common to describe how relatively deprived a neighbourhood is by saying whether it falls among the most deprived 10%, 20% or 30% of small areas in England (although there is no definitive cut-off at which an area is described as ‘deprived’).
To help with this, deprivation ‘deciles’ are published alongside ranks. Deciles are calculated by ranking the 33,755 small areas in England, from most deprived to least deprived, and dividing them into 10 equal groups. These range from the most deprived 10% of small areas nationally to the least deprived 10% of small areas nationally. Quintiles are calculated by ranking the 33,755 small areas in England, from most deprived to least deprived, and dividing them into 5 equal groups, with the most deprived quintile representing the most deprived 20% of LSOAs nationally.