How to conduct a UK class identity survey: a guide
Learn how British class identity shapes values, perspectives and social attitudes.
This article explores how class identity surveys can help organisations and market researchers gain insights into social class perceptions, identity and influences within the UK. We’ll show the benefits of understanding class identity, the unique aspects of class perception in the UK and offer a guide to designing a class identity survey, demonstrating how this can be used to capture nuanced data on class identity.
What is class identity in the UK and why does it matter?
Class identity in the UK is a constantly evolving concept influenced by various factors, including:
- Inherited wealth
- Property ownership
- Occupation
- Parental occupation
- Educational background
- Lifestyle choices
Researchers often debate which factors to prioritise when identifying class stratifications in the UK. For example, lifestyle choices can be a contentious factor as they reflect an individual’ self-perception of class which may not align with their income or career opportunities. However, some social scientists or market researchers may still be interested in class self-perception if it’s relevant to their research.
What are the British social classes?
The definition of British class can change over time and remains a hotly debated topic. According to the most recent Great British Class Survey, class could be identified by these distinct categories:
- Elite: The top 6% of British society in terms of economic capital (such as savings), social capital, and cultural capital. Examples include: chief executive officers, doctors, and high-ranking professors.
- Established middle class: Represented 25% of British society, has high economic capital, high status social capital, and active cultural participation. Examples include: social workers, nurses, and quality assurance and regulatory professionals.
- Technical middle class: Represented 6% of British society, has high economic capital, very high-status social contacts and moderate cultural capital. Examples include: researchers, pharmacists, and administrative workers.
- New affluent workers: Accounted for 15% of Britain’s society, demonstrated moderate economic capital, limited social contacts, and growing cultural capital. Examples include: electricians, plumbers and quality assurance technicians.
- Traditional working class: Accounted for 14% of Britain’s society, demonstrated limited economic capital but housing ownership, restricted social capital, and growing cultural capital. Examples include: care workers, cleaners, and van drivers.
- Emergent service sector: Representing 19% of British society, this class showed limited economic capital but moderate household income, moderate social capital, and emerging cultural capital. Examples included: bar staff, chefs, and nursing assistants.
- Precariat: Considered 15% of Britain’s society and showed poor economic capital and generally low scores for other criteria. Examples included: unemployed people, 6% of cleaners, and 3% of shopkeepers.
If the Great British Class Survey were to be conducted again, completely new class stratifications might emerge and results may be different. However, these previous results and categories can provide a good basis for market researchers, social scientists, and DE&I professionals to use when creating their own class identity survey. By doing so, they can gain more up-to-date insights into class identity in the UK today.
Did you know? Filtering your data by demographic groups can be a game-changer. Use the SurveyMonkey Analyze tool to compare responses between different groups.
How class identity impacts opportunities and social perception
In this section, we’ll look at what class self-perception is and explore the concepts of cultural, social and economic capital, as defined by French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. These forms of capital play a significant role in shaping life opportunities, influencing people’s purchasing power, what they spend on culture, food, how they respond to advertising and how they use social media.
According to Bourdieu, gaining financial wealth wasn’t the only way people could access society’s resources or achieve long-term status. He defined three ways someone could access these resources:
Cultural capital: Defined by the different cultural expectations set by class. For example, individuals with high cultural capital might have an understanding of how to dress for specific occasions and own books, music, or pieces of art that reflect a background in higher education.
Social capital: Refers to a person’s social networks and connections, including their professional relationships, friendships, and family relations. It can also refer to how diverse someone’s social contacts are.
Economic (or financial) capital: Financial capital assesses savings, debts (or lack of), property investment, material assets, or inheritance.
While other types of capital have been defined since, these types remain central and have been used by the Great British Class Identity Survey. They influence the way individuals engage with cultural activities, manage spending, make donations, save, pursue aspirations, career opportunities and more. Sometimes, this grouping can be known as someone’s socio-economic class.
Social scientists, market researchers and DE&I professionals can refer to these distinct categories when aiming to understand more about customer base sentiments, equal opportunities and how UK society is changing. When creating a class identity survey, consider how someone’s responses could be categorised.
Tip: Have you thought about using these different categories when conducting a market research survey?
Using a class identity survey to capture valuable insights
In this next section, we will explore how you can use a class identity survey to capture unique insights into people’s relationships with culture and society. We look at what to include and how to design a class identity survey.
What to include in a UK class survey
When creating a class identity survey, consider using example questions like:
- What is your salary band?
- What class (if any) do you personally identify with?
- Do you own a property or rent one?
- How many properties do you own?
- Do you stand to gain an inheritance and how much would this be approximately?
- What activities do you like to do in your spare time?
Since class is subjective and difficult to define, how you structure a class survey is ultimately dependent on your objectives. Bear in mind that some questions may be sensitive topics, such as inheritance, so consider carefully how each question is framed. In the next section, we’ll explore some useful tips for designing a class identity survey.
Tips for designing a British social class identity survey
Since class identity surveys generally benefit from using a large-scale sample size, consider gathering quantitative data based on numerical values. That way, you can use statistical insights from it to build infographics, charts and other visualisations to represent your findings effectively.
To gather quantitative data, use question types like:
- Multiple choice questions: These allow respondents to choose several options from a list. For example, ‘Which of these professions do people you know personally have?’ Then provide a list of options like ‘Doctor’, ‘Teacher’ etc.
- Single choice questions: Require respondents to choose one option from a list. For example, you might ask: ‘Which salary band do you belong to?’ and provide predefined options allowing them to select one.
- Descriptive questions: These focus on asking ‘how much?’, ‘what proportion?’ or ‘how often’. For example, you could ask someone, ‘How often do you attend the theatre?’ in a class identity survey.
The BBC Lab UK’s Great British social class calculator could be a great template for designing your own, as it has interactive graphics and colourful presentation.
Real-world applications of class identity data
Once you’ve gathered the quantitative data you need from your class identity survey, it’s time to analyse it and gain actionable insights. We’ll look at some ways you can use class identity surveys for market demographic segmentation, targeting and better understanding social attitudes or values.
Tip: Learn best practices for other demographic survey questions, such as by age, ethnicity, gender and marital status.
Market demographic segmentation and targeting
Market segmentation involves breaking down groups into subgroups according to their needs, preferences, and values. Since class identity is closely tied with these customer attributes, you can use it as a form of market segmentation.
Class identity surveys can be useful to public sector service industries, healthcare organisations, cultural institutions, charities, non-profit organisations, social science researchers, and DE&I professionals. These groups can use class identity survey data to:
- Better target health campaigns to specific demographics
- Understand how charitable donations might vary depending on someone’s financial capital
- Identify opportunities for cultural institutions to reach different demographics through advertising or curated content
- Gather insights to inform HR social equity initiatives and social mobility questions during application processes
- Create more relevant local services for particular geographical regions.
Tip: Use the SurveyMonkey guide to market segmentation strategy to build your own market niches.
Using class data to understand social attitudes and values
As well as marketing and segmentation, you can use a class identity survey to better understand people’s social attitudes and values. This could include, for example:
- How people’s self-perceptions of class align with their social, cultural, and financial capital
- The relationship between class identity and happiness
- Whether people’s perceptions of social class influence their engagement with cultural and social activities and why
- Social mobility UK trends
- The relationship between UK socioeconomic diversity and regionality
- Whether social class impacts someone’s perception of public services
- Whether someone identifies with a particular class background or not
- People’s sense of security based on class, particularly regarding income, stability, property ownership and safety of their geographical area
Understanding class identity can provide a deeper connection with the UK market. Class identity surveys can guide brands, institutions, and researchers in shaping strategies that resonate across different class demographics.
Use SurveyMonkey Audience Panel tools to quickly uncover useful insights on diverse values, preferences and behaviours linked to class identity.
Class identity survey FAQs
- Do people sometimes disagree with the class background they’ve been assigned?
- Is there still a class divide in the UK?
Discover more resources
Brand Marketing Manager
Brand marketing managers can use this toolkit to understand their target audience, grow their brand and prove ROI.
Shaping the future: how British values in the workplace drive inclusion and engagement
Discover how ‘British values in the workplace’ surveys can reveal what matters most to employees, fostering inclusion and engagement.
The power of surveys to perform skills gap analysis
Learn how to conduct a skills gap analysis using surveys to identify workforce skill gaps, implement targeted training and drive targeted growth.
How to use the 4 Ps of marketing for successful campaigns
Master the 4 Ps – Product, Price, Place and Promotion – and discover how to use them to create a marketing strategy that drives results.