Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 49.2: Axbridge is older than 81% of UK towns
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Axbridge has 19%. The village counted 1,998 residents and 879 households at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 27% of households live in a terraced house. 35% of households are one person living alone, more than in 87% of UK towns.
24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 63% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
50–54 is the most common age band: 9.1% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in 85% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More full-time students than 75% of UK towns: 5.5%
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%.
Nearly two fifths of Axbridge’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: a tenth of the total. The benchmark for full-time students across England’s towns: 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 79% of UK towns
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.
Households with dependent children: 25% here and 29% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.3%.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 71% of UK towns: 12%
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
Locally, 28% of households live in a detached house. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 64% of UK towns, at 98%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 15%. For Axbridge, the census puts residents born outside the UK at 5.6%. To put it in context, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
No religion: 45% of residents, a higher share than 73% 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: 94% of Axbridge · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and Indian (0.3%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%. At 94%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in just over two thirds of UK towns. Against a figure of 46% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian in Axbridge comes in at 48%.
30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 66% of UK towns
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 43. 8% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 84% of UK towns. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Axbridge, 48%.
39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
39% of Axbridge’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have none (18%).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Axbridge
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Axbridge’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 Axbridge’s residents
What is the population of Axbridge?
The 2021 Census counted 1,998 people in Axbridge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Axbridge?
The median age was 49.2 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Axbridge?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Axbridge?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Axbridge good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Axbridge’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.