Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0In Coleford, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 88% of UK towns
9% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. In Coleford, 11% of households have no car or van. Fewer households in flats than in 63% of UK towns: 8.5%. The village counted 2,235 residents and 940 households at the 2021 Census.
Coleford is older than 64% of UK towns: a median age of 46.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.8% of residents. Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Coleford comes in at 22%.
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.
3.9% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 88% 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%.
6.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, against 11% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Coleford sits below 71% of UK towns for one-person households (27%)
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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 2.2% in Coleford. Households here average 2.4 people each. Typically, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Households in detached houses make up 26% in Coleford, less than in 58% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 23% of households live in a terraced house here. Typically, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
4.2% of residents were born outside the UK, below 75% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.6%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 80% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
No religion: 44% of residents, a higher share than 73% 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 Coleford · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 48%, against 46% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.2%).
Married adults and civil partners: 50%, a higher share than 66% 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
Nearly a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. In Coleford, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, married adults and civil partners come to 44%.
24% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 24% of Coleford’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 23% have no qualification (18%).
Coleford is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coleford | 2,235 | — | 46.4 | 22% | 27% |
| Chilcompton | 1,857 | 2.9 mi | 48.1 | 23% | 29% |
| Midsomer Norton | 13,749 | 3.3 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Radstock | 9,983 | 3.4 mi | 38.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Peasedown St John | 6,668 | 5.1 mi | 43.2 | 19% | 30% |
| Paulton | 6,502 | 5.1 mi | 39.8 | 20% | 30% |
| Frome | 27,904 | 5.5 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 5.6 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 27% |
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 Coleford’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 Coleford’s residents
What is the population of Coleford?
The 2021 Census counted 2,235 people in Coleford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Coleford?
The median age was 46.4 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Coleford?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Coleford?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Coleford good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Coleford’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.