Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 51.9: Castle Cary is older than 92% of UK towns
By its share of households with dependent children (21%), Castle Cary is below 93% of UK towns. The town has more households in terraced houses than 85% of UK towns, at 31%. At the 2021 Census Castle Cary was home to 3,451 people in 1,630 households. The census found that 38% of households are one person living alone in the town.
What the Census says about Castle Cary’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Castle Cary’s residents are under 51.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Castle Cary at 3,200 in 2011 and 3,800 in 2024, up 17%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 80% 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.
Faster growth than 80% of UK towns: Castle Cary changed by +17% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Castle Cary’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,200 people in 2011; 3,800 in 2024.
Between mid-2020 and mid-2021 the population rose by 180, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over age group moved most (+24%); the 45 to 64 group moved least (+9%).
In Castle Cary, 32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 8% of residents. 9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 64% of UK towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over 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+
■ Castle Cary, 51.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 89% of UK towns, at 3.8%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 32% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 29% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Residents who moved in within the year account for 11%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Smaller households than 96% of UK towns: 2.1 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, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Castle Cary, 2.2%.
Castle Cary ranks below 63% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 13%
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
Where 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Castle Cary has 13%. Against that, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. 26% of households live in a detached house.
In Castle Cary, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 67% 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
The figure for residents born outside the UK is 5.3% in Castle Cary and 18% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 85% 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: 96% of Castle Cary · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52% here and 46% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 73% across England’s towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.2%).
Castle Cary ranks below 67% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 30%
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: 45%, below 67% of UK towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 8.2% in Castle Cary. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 31% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 20% hold no qualification (18%).
Of 749 UK towns its size (2,500 to 5,000 people), the 104th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Castle Cary in age: Ringmer (51.8), Talke and Talke Pits (51.9), Cleadon (52) and Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll (52).
Every neighbour of Castle Cary has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | — | 51.9 | 32% | 21% |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 3 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Evercreech | 2,165 | 4 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 23% |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 5.2 mi | 41.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Keinton Mandeville | 1,216 | 5.7 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 27% |
| Pilton | 1,104 | 6 mi | 51.9 | 28% | 23% |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 7 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 27% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 7.8 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
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 Castle Cary’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. Castle Cary’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,451 people in 2021, against 3,451 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 Castle Cary’s residents
What is the population of Castle Cary?
The 2021 Census counted 3,451 people in Castle Cary’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,800 people in mid-2024, 17% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Castle Cary?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Castle Cary?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Castle Cary?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Castle Cary good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Castle Cary’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.