Generally speaking, Grampian is an affluent part of Scotland. In the 2020 Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), the Midstocket area of Aberdeen ranked the second least deprived in Scotland, and 116 areas in Grampian fell into the least deprived 10%. Meanwhile, eight areas in Grampian ranked among the 10% most deprived, and 20 in the 15% most deprived. This has shifted somewhat since 2016, with several more areas slipping down the league table of the most deprived in Scotland, and a reduction of those ranked most affluent.
Even with high levels of affluence overall, there is a significant demographic gap between the richest and poorest parts of Grampian. For example, combining SIMD and Census data, it is clear that a ethnic minorities are over-represented in deprived areas. On average, around a quarter (23%) of people in Grampian’s ten most deprived areas were ethnic minorities, up to nearly a third (32%) in Woodside (Aberdeen City). The figure was less than 15% in Grampian’s ten most affluent areas. However, ethnic minorities were over-represented in several affluent areas, especially around Aberdeen’s hospitals, emphasising the importance of ethnic minority workers in the health service.
The table below shows the ten most and least deprived areas in Grampian, with the proportions of different ethnicities among residents. While the figures are for 2012, most of these areas have remained in the same categories in 2016 and 2020. In more densely populated areas, one area may include several SIMD datazones, and often neighbouring datazones have similar SIMD scores. A lower score means a higher level of deprivation, based on measures of income, employment, health, education/skills, housing, crime, and geographic access to services.
Ethnicity by SIMD Datazones: Most Deprived Areas
| Datazone | SIMD Rank | Area Name | All People | Scottish/ British | % | Total Ethnic Minorities | % | · | ‘White’ Ethnic Minority | Mixed, Multiple or Other | Asian | African, Caribbean or Black |
| S01006634 | 500 | Torry East | 634 | 497 | 78% | 137 | 22% | · | 116 | 2 | 12 | 7 |
| S01007126 | 536 | Fraserburgh Harbour/Broadsea | 927 | 626 | 67% | 301 | 33% | · | 287 | 4 | 5 | 5 |
| S01006684 | 545 | Woodside | 684 | 477 | 70% | 207 | 30% | · | 135 | 15 | 30 | 27 |
| S01006636 | 675 | Torry East | 870 | 700 | 80% | 170 | 20% | · | 133 | 12 | 8 | 17 |
| S01006667 | 725 | Seaton | 741 | 537 | 72% | 204 | 28% | · | 132 | 9 | 35 | 28 |
| S01007086 | 754 | Peterhead Harbour | 1132 | 808 | 71% | 324 | 29% | · | 280 | 7 | 323 | 4 |
| S01006724 | 785 | Northfield | 1005 | 882 | 88% | 123 | 12% | · | 73 | 2 | 11 | 37 |
| S01006729 | 878 | Heathryfold/Middlefield | 831 | 704 | 85% | 127 | 15% | · | 70 | 5 | 30 | 22 |
| S01007088 | 884 | Peterhead Harbour | 539 | 452 | 84% | 87 | 16% | · | 83 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| S01006727 | 893 | Heathryfold/Middlefield | 1015 | 754 | 74% | 261 | 26% | · | 232 | 4 | 10 | 15 |
| Total | 8378 | 6437 | 77% | 1941 | 23% | · | 1541 | 62 | 176 | 162 |
Ethnicity by SIMD Datazones: Least Deprived (Most Affluent) Areas
| Datazone | SIMD Rank | Area Name | All People | Scottish/ British | % | Total Ethnic Minorities | % | · | ‘White’ Ethnic Minority | Mixed, Multiple or Other | Asian | African, Caribbean or Black |
| S01006561 | 6975 | Midstocket | 766 | 664 | 87% | 102 | 13% | · | 40 | 21 | 30 | 11 |
| S01006689 | 6969 | Hilton | 629 | 497 | 79% | 132 | 21% | · | 49 | 14 | 47 | 22 |
| S01006935 | 6964 | Westhill Central | 699 | 659 | 94% | 40 | 6% | · | 17 | 4 | 19 | 0 |
| S01006559 | 6958 | Midstocket | 607 | 487 | 80% | 120 | 20% | · | 85 | 3 | 30 | 2 |
| S01006833 | 6957 | Stonehaven North | 455 | 423 | 93% | 32 | 7% | · | 23 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| S01006575 | 6956 | West End South | 951 | 786 | 83% | 165 | 17% | · | 99 | 18 | 38 | 10 |
| S01006581 | 6955 | West End South | 889 | 787 | 89% | 102 | 11% | · | 74 | 6 | 17 | 5 |
| S01006573 | 6949 | West End North | 724 | 607 | 84% | 117 | 16% | · | 83 | 10 | 13 | 11 |
| S01006570 | 6946 | Rosemount | 791 | 608 | 77% | 183 | 23% | · | 73 | 12 | 68 | 30 |
| S01006933 | 6945 | Westhill North/South | 580 | 554 | 96% | 26 | 4% | · | 10 | 4 | 8 | 4 |
| Total | 7091 | 6072 | 86% | 1019 | 14% | · | 553 | 95 | 274 | 97 |
Demographic Data: Scotland’s Census 2011, Table LC2801SC.
Data Source: 2020, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation. Link.