Which Sectors Shape the Bath Economy?
Published business-site figures show Bath’s concentration of professional services, information businesses, hospitality and cultural activity, with clear limits on what those shares measure.
Published
Professional services, information and communication, hospitality and cultural activity stand out in Bath’s business profile. In 2020, the Bath City sub-area contained 53% of business sites across Bath and North East Somerset, known as B&NES. Its share of the district’s businesses in each of those sectors was higher, according to the council’s June 2022 Economic Strategy Evidence Base.[1]
These figures describe where businesses were located in 2020. They provide a historical picture of sector concentration, rather than a current ranking by employment, turnover or economic output.[1]
Where Bath’s Sector Concentrations Stand Out
The evidence base uses Office for National Statistics business data to compare four sub-areas: Bath City, Keynsham, Rural Area and Somer Valley. Its geographical comparison counts local units, meaning individual sites belonging to an enterprise. A business with several sites can therefore contribute several local units.[1]
Read each row below across the district. For example, the 67% figure means Bath City contained 67% of all B&NES accommodation and food business sites. The denominator is the district’s sites in that particular sector. It does not mean accommodation and food accounted for 67% of Bath’s businesses.[1]
| Sector | Bath City | Keynsham | Rural Area | Somer Valley |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All sectors | 53% | 8% | 22% | 16% |
| Professional, scientific and technical | 62% | 6% | 21% | 11% |
| Information and communication | 62% | 8% | 20% | 10% |
| Accommodation and food | 67% | 6% | 15% | 11% |
| Arts, entertainment and recreation | 61% | 7% | 20% | 12% |
| Manufacturing | 34% | 11% | 24% | 30% |
| Construction | 32% | 14% | 29% | 26% |
All percentages are published shares of B&NES local units in 2020, drawn from Figure 2.3 of the evidence base. The report notes that rounding can prevent rows from adding to 100%. Bath City is the report’s defined sub-area, so these figures should not be relabelled as city-centre statistics.[1]
Services Extend Beyond the Visitor Economy
Bath City held 62% of the district’s professional, scientific and technical sites and the same share of information and communication sites. Both exceeded its 53% share across all sectors. That comparison gives business services and information activities a clear place in an account of Bath’s economy alongside hospitality and cultural businesses.[1]
For a supplier assessing a potential local market, this is useful evidence about where those business sites were concentrated. It leaves a separate commercial question unanswered: how much they buy. A count gives each site one place in the total, regardless of its staffing, turnover or purchasing budget.[1]
Hospitality and Culture Need Careful Labels
Accommodation and food had the highest Bath City share among the sectors shown here, at 67%. Arts, entertainment and recreation also leaned towards Bath, with 61% of district sites. The report identifies both as sectors associated with tourism and the visitor economy.[1]
Keep the published categories attached to the numbers. Accommodation and food includes activities serving residents as well as visitors. Likewise, the arts, entertainment and recreation category should retain its name when quoted. Its 61% figure cannot establish Bath’s share of an independently defined creative-industries sector, or the proportion of local income generated by tourists.[1]
Manufacturing and Construction Spread Across the District
Production and construction show a different geography. Bath City contained 34% of B&NES manufacturing sites in 2020, while Somer Valley held 30% and Rural Area 24%. For construction, Bath’s share was 32%, compared with 29% in Rural Area and 26% in Somer Valley.[1]
Bath still accounted for roughly a third of district sites in each sector. For businesses seeking industrial customers or construction contacts, however, the distribution gives a practical reason to consider locations beyond Bath alongside the city itself.[1]
Business Shares and Economic Priorities Answer Different Questions
The council’s Economic Strategy 2024 to 2034 provides the later policy context. Its accompanying Business and Skills Plan addresses Good Work, Resilient Business and Inclusive innovation. Those are ambitions for economic development, rather than statistical sector categories or evidence that particular industries have already grown.[2]
When using these figures for a Bath business decision, specify the measure you need next. Business-site distribution can help define a geographical shortlist. A recruitment decision needs employment evidence, while a sales forecast needs evidence about customers and spending. Neither can be calculated from these location shares alone.[1]
Sources and checks
These sources were used for this article. Availability, prices and service details can change after the stated check date.
- https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/BNES%20Economic%20Strategy%20Evidence%20Base%20v4_0%20WMA%20Accesibility%20Amend%20%281%29.pdf
Checked 20 October 2026.
The geographical comparison measures local units, defined as individual sites belonging to an enterprise. The four sub-areas are Bath City, Keynsham, Rural Area and Somer Valley. Bath City contained 53% of B&NES local units across all sectors in 2020. Every percentage in the article’s table reproduces the corresponding published 2020 sector and sub-area share. The denominator for each sector row is B&NES local units in that sector, rather than all businesses within Bath City. Bath City’s shares of professional, scientific and technical, information and communication, accommodation and food, and arts, entertainment and recreation sites exceeded its all-sector share. The report associates accommodation and food and arts, entertainment and recreation with the visitor economy. Manufacturing and construction sites were distributed more widely across the district than the highlighted service sectors. Published percentages may not sum to 100% because of rounding. These business-location shares do not measure sector employment, turnover, purchasing budgets or visitor spending.
- B&NES Economic Strategy 2024 to 2034 | Bath and North East Somerset Council
Checked 20 October 2026.
The Business and Skills Plan implements priorities of the B&NES Economic Strategy 2024 to 2034. The plan addresses Good Work and relevant objectives under Resilient Business and Inclusive innovation. These pillars express policy ambitions rather than statistical sector classifications or measured sector growth.