Photo: Rodw · Public domainFamilies with children: 37% of households, more than in 95% of UK towns
At 2.6 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Households without a car or van are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,424 residents and 549 households in Bishop Sutton. 1.1% of households live in a flat or apartment.
What the Census says about Bishop Sutton’s people
A village of families
37% of Bishop Sutton’s 549 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 10% in Bishop Sutton, more than in 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 8.8% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. 19% of residents are 65 or over. The median age in Bishop Sutton is 44.1, lower than in 53% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 89% of UK towns: 6.6%
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%.
By class, 43% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 15% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Locally, 8.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. 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.
One-person households: 21%, a lower share than 97% 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.
2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%). Set beside that, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
More detached houses than 93% of UK towns: 55% of households
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
Households in terraced houses make up 13%, against 24% across England’s towns. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%.
Bishop Sutton ranks above 91% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 99%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 4.4% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 72% of UK towns.
In Bishop Sutton, 46% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 82% 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: 95% of Bishop Sutton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (0.4%). Measured more widely, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Bishop Sutton sits higher than 78% of UK towns: 95%. At the same time, 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 94% of UK towns: 58%
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
For 27 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. The wider picture: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 9.5%.
A degree-level qualification for 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 42% of adults in Bishop Sutton (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 11% (England’s towns: 18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 16%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Bishop Sutton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishop Sutton | 1,424 | — | 44.1 | 19% | 37% |
| Chew Magna | 1,249 | 2.3 mi | 51.7 | 31% | 25% |
| Clutton | 1,630 | 2.5 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 36% |
| Temple Cloud | 1,518 | 2.6 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 31% |
| High Littleton | 1,655 | 3.8 mi | 46 | 23% | 29% |
| Paulton | 6,502 | 4.5 mi | 39.8 | 20% | 30% |
| Farmborough | 1,106 | 4.9 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 25% |
| Whitchurch | 1,992 | 5.2 mi | 39.1 | 18% | 32% |
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 Bishop Sutton’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 Bishop Sutton’s residents
What is the population of Bishop Sutton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,424 people in Bishop Sutton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bishop Sutton?
The median age was 44.1 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bishop Sutton?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bishop Sutton?
46% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Bishop Sutton good for families?
37% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bishop Sutton’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.