Photo: Troxx · CC BY 2.5

49.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021 & mid-year estimates

Half of Cheddar is over 49.1, older than 80% of UK towns

Here 43% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. The 2021 Census counted 5,841 residents in 2,549 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% of the total. Households without a car or van are rarer here than in 70% of UK towns.

+15%people since 2011 27%aged 65 or over 5.8%born abroad 2,549households

Population since 2011

Cheddar grew +15% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 77% of UK towns

ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cheddar’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.

People, mid-2011 = 100

CheddarEnglandAll of Somerset

Change by age, 2011 to 2024

CheddarEngland

0 to 15+16%

16 to 29+8%

30 to 44+20%

45 to 64±0%

65 and over+36%

About 5,000 people in 2011; 5,700 in 2024.

Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+36%) and the 45 to 64 least (±0%). The steepest year was mid-2023 to mid-2024, up 140 people.

Ages

Residents aged 65 and over: 27%, a higher share than 82% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

CheddarEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

No age band is larger than 50–54: 8% of residents. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Cheddar has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 60% of UK towns, at 9.5%. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Cheddar, 49.1. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 249.5%

25 to 4420%

45 to 6428%

65 and over27%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Cheddar

England

WomenMen

About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 70% of UK towns, at 7.8%

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

Full-time students4.8%

Higher managerial and professional14%

Lower managerial and professional23%

Intermediate10%

Small employers and self-employed14%

Supervisory and technical5.8%

Semi-routine12%

Routine10%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.9%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Cheddar

7.9%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

451

residents, 7.8%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.5× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs take in 36% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 22% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On full-time students, Cheddar sits higher than just over half of UK towns: 4.8%. Typically, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.

Households

Fewer family households than 69% of UK towns: 25% in Cheddar

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 18%Living alone, under 66 13%Families with dependent children 25%Couples and families, no young children 41%Shared houses and other 2.7%

Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns

Cheddar

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person31%

2 people36%

3 people15%

4 people13%

5 or more4.9%

England’s towns.

Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Cheddar, 31%. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. In Cheddar, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.

Homes & cars

Cheddar ranks below 78% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 13%

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Cheddar

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van12%

One39%

Two34%

Three or more15%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Flats are home to 14% of households, against 23% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Above 64% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language

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%

Cheddar

5.8%

Somerset’s towns

9.6%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

CheddarEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language98%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.4%

Another main language, little or no English0.3%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in Africa (1.2%). The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 56% of UK towns. Of residents born abroad, 13% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

Residents with no religion make up 43% in Cheddar, more than in 65% 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

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.7%

Asian1%

Mixed1.3%

Black0.3%

Other0.2%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 95% of Cheddar · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion43%

Christian49%

Muslim0.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.4%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer6.6%

0%30%60%

After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.3%). For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 49%, fewer than in 52% of UK towns.

Relationships & caring

Adults who have never married make up 29% in Cheddar, less than in 77% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership29%

Married or civil partnership51%

Separated2.5%

Divorced9.7%

Widowed8.5%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

519residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.3%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.3%

20 to 49 hours1.6%

50 hours or more2.4%

In Cheddar, just over half of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Some 135 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. This Somerset town has fewer unpaid carers than 52% of UK towns, at 9.3%.

Qualifications

Among adults, 34% hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications16%

Apprenticeship6%

A levels or similar18%

Degree level34%

CheddarSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

At degree level, Cheddar counts 34% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%).

Towns its size

Ranked by age, 160th oldest of 624 UK towns this size

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Cheddar 49.1

BailriggBarton on SeaBrayton

174267

Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Cheddar in age: Stretton (49.1), Doddington and Wimblington (49.1), Aintree (49.2) and Horncastle (49.2).

Neighbours

Older than Cheddar: 6 of the 7 towns nearby

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

AxbridgeDraycottShiphamWinscombe and SandfordWedmoreChurchillBlagdonCheddar

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Cheddar	5,841	—	49.1	27%	25%
Axbridge	1,998	1.8 mi	49.2	24%	25%
Draycott	1,069	1.9 mi	51.5	28%	25%
Shipham	1,104	2.7 mi	53.1	30%	24%
Winscombe and Sandford	4,605	3.8 mi	53.8	34%	22%
Wedmore	1,424	3.9 mi	56.6	38%	21%
Churchill	1,989	4.2 mi	41.6	21%	30%
Blagdon	1,056	4.2 mi	49.3	27%	27%

More about Cheddar’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health B⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living DOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools CEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Cheddar’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. Cheddar’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,486 people in 2021, against 5,841 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 Cheddar’s residents

What is the population of Cheddar?

The 2021 Census counted 5,841 people in Cheddar’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,700 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.

What is the average age in Cheddar?

The median age was 49.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 80% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Cheddar?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Cheddar?

43% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.

Is Cheddar good for families?

25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cheddar’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.