Photo: habiloid · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 91% of UK towns: half of Bridgwater is under 37.5
46% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 47,846 residents in Bridgwater, living in 20,126 households. Across Bridgwater, 14% of households live in a detached house. The town has more households in terraced houses than 89% of UK towns, at 34%.
What the Census says about Bridgwater’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Bridgwater’s residents are under 37.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 15% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Bridgwater at 40,800 in 2011 and 50,500 in 2024, up 24%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 90% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A +24% change since 2011: Bridgwater grew faster than 90% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bridgwater’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 40,800 people in 2011; 50,500 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 1,160 people. Of the age groups, 30 to 44 changed most (+41%) and 16 to 29 least (+9%).
A lower share of residents aged 65 and over than 89% of UK towns, at 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 30–34, with 8% of residents. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. At 11%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is higher than in 86% of UK towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bridgwater, 37.5. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
11% of residents moved in within a year, more than in 83% 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%.
Full-time students make up 4.7%, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Managerial and professional jobs account for 22% of Bridgwater’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 39%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns.
More family households than 79% of UK towns: 31% in Bridgwater
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.
There is little gap on shared households of unrelated adults: 3.8%, about the same as across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. The average household has 2.4 people.
17% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 76% of UK towns
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
A fifth of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. Typically, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 14%, a higher share than 85% of UK towns
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
Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 22%. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. The census found that 90% of residents have English as their main language in Bridgwater.
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 79% of UK towns, at 85%
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: 85% of Bridgwater · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
At 46%, residents who describe themselves as Christian sit close to the figure across England’s towns. The benchmark for residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns: 73%. Next after White British come Other White (10%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (1.2%).
41% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 88% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Bridgwater has 40%. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 1,253. The town has fewer unpaid carers than 79% of UK towns, at 8.3%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 21%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Bridgwater, 22%, while 21% hold one at degree level (34%).
From a median age of 34 in Stockmoor & North Petherton to 42 in Wembdon & Chilton Trinity
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Wembdon & Chilton Trinity is the oldest area, with 19% aged 65 or over; Stockmoor & North Petherton the youngest (median age 34). Families with children are most common in Stockmoor & North Petherton (41% of households).
Among 158 UK towns of 33,000 to 65,000 people, the 22nd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.5 in Canterbury to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Bridgwater in age: Bletchley (37.2), Grays (37.4), Rowley Regis (37.6) and Borehamwood (37.6).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Bridgwater
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgwater | 47,846 | — | 37.5 | 15% | 31% |
| Wembdon | 1,772 | 1.2 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 25% |
| North Petherton | 3,180 | 2.4 mi | 50.5 | 29% | 23% |
| Puriton | 2,265 | 3.1 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 26% |
| Westonzoyland | 1,463 | 3.3 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 25% |
| Cannington | 2,315 | 3.3 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Woolavington | 2,324 | 3.9 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Monkton Heathfield | 4,584 | 6.8 mi | 34.2 | 12% | 40% |
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 Bridgwater’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Bridgwater’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 47,917 people in 2021, against 47,846 in the built-up area.
- 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 Bridgwater’s residents
What is the population of Bridgwater?
The 2021 Census counted 47,846 people in Bridgwater’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 50,500 people in mid-2024, 24% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bridgwater?
The median age was 37.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 91% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bridgwater?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bridgwater?
46% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Bridgwater good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Stockmoor & North Petherton (41% of households). Schools are on Bridgwater’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.