Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.015% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 97% of UK towns
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Census day 2021: 2,816 residents and 1,139 households in Bruton. Just over a third of households are one person living alone. Fewer households without a car or van than in 77% of UK towns: 11%.
What the Census says about Bruton’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Bruton at 2,900 in 2011 and 2,700 in 2024, down 8%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 99% 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 change of −8% since 2011 leaves Bruton behind 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bruton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,900 people in 2011; 2,700 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+23%) and the 0 to 15 group least (−34%).
Half of Bruton is under 42.3, younger than 67% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 20%, against 18% across England’s towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bruton, 42.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
10% of adults are full-time students, more than in 96% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 92% of UK towns: 12%. 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.
Bruton sits below 58% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (2.2%)
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 are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 29%. For comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Above 84% of UK towns: 31% of households live in a terraced house
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
Flats are home to 14% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. In Bruton, 29% of households live in a detached house. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Bruton ranks above 68% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 8.8%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents whose main language is English make up 97%, against 90% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.3%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents with no religion than 59% of UK towns: 42%
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: 92% of Bruton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, near enough the figure across England’s towns. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 50% of UK towns: 92%. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.7%).
36% of adults have never married, more than in 72% 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
Married adults and civil partners are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 44%. On the census count, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 38% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 38% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%). A levels are as far as 17% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
97th lowest median age among 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Bruton in age: Theale (42.3), Rudloe (42.3), Shenley (42.4) and Bishop's Itchington (42.6).
Of the 7 towns nearest Bruton, 5 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruton | 2,816 | — | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | 3 mi | 51.9 | 32% | 21% |
| Evercreech | 2,165 | 3.5 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 23% |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 4.2 mi | 41.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 6.9 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 27% |
| Pilton | 1,104 | 6.9 mi | 51.9 | 28% | 23% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 7.9 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
| Mere | 2,808 | 8.3 mi | 55.4 | 35% | 17% |
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 Bruton’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. Bruton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,875 people in 2021, against 2,816 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 Bruton’s residents
What is the population of Bruton?
The 2021 Census counted 2,816 people in Bruton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,700 people in mid-2024, 8% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bruton?
The median age was 42.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 67% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bruton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bruton?
42% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 9.2% didn’t answer.
Is Bruton good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bruton’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. 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.