Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0In Ash, 4.2% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Married people and civil partners make up 58% of adults, against 44% across England’s towns. At 20%, the share of one-person households is lower than in 98% of UK towns. Ash had 619 residents and 259 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 50.6. The census found that 56% of households live in a detached house locally.
Ash is older than 88% of UK towns: a median age of 50.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
60–64 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. In Ash, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 69% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Ash: 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 80% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
In Ash, 4.8% of adults are full-time students, beside 7.9% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Larger households than 77% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Ash, 25%. The census found that 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here.
Ash ranks below 91% of UK towns on households in flats: 3.5%
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, against 19% in Ash. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 8%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English: 98%, above nearly two thirds of UK towns. Typically, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.3%) and in Africa (1.9%).
Ash: 59% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 92% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 93% of Ash · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.7%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% here, more than in 61% of UK towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns: 46%. Residents with no religion: 36% here and 37% across England’s towns.
Only 25% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Ash
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 16. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 9% of residents give unpaid care, a lower share than in 60% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Ash, 37% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 9.9% have no qualification at all (18%).
Nearby, 3 of 7 towns have older populations than Ash
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ash | 619 | — | 50.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Martock | 4,079 | 1.1 mi | 50.8 | 29% | 20% |
| Stoke sub Hamdon | 1,360 | 2 mi | 51.2 | 27% | 22% |
| Ilchester | 2,062 | 3.3 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 37% |
| South Petherton | 3,096 | 3.6 mi | 53.5 | 35% | 22% |
| Somerton | 5,106 | 4.9 mi | 50 | 30% | 24% |
| Langport | 3,578 | 5.1 mi | 50.4 | 29% | 22% |
| Yeovil | 50,170 | 5.3 mi | 40 | 19% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Somerset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Somerset (or England), summed the same way as Ash’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Ash’s residents
What is the population of Ash?
The 2021 Census counted 619 people in Ash’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ash?
The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ash?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ash?
36% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Ash good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ash’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.