For years our LSM calculation included a "living type" self-report — a coarse metro/peri-urban/rural bucket that respondents chose themselves. It never sat comfortably with us, because the self-classification drifted with perception rather than reality.
In 2026 we replaced it with a city-weighted score: each city in our sampling frame now carries a calibrated weight (0–10) assigned by our methodology team and reviewed twice a year. A respondent's contribution to LSM no longer depends on how they describe their neighbourhood, only on where they actually live.
The net effect on category boundaries is small — most respondents move by less than one LSM band. But the distribution is more stable and more defensible when we present weighted results to clients.
If you have longitudinal studies with us, we run both calculations in parallel through 2026 so you can see the delta before we switch you over.