Photo: Mr Eugene Birchall · CC BY-SA 2.0Frome ranks above 95% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 51%
Half of Frome’s residents are under 42.6, younger than in 65% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 27,904, in 12,142 households. Locally, nearly a third of households live in a terraced house. By its share of households in flats (16%), Frome is above three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Frome’s people
More with no religion than most
51% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 40% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
Frome grew +10% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 62% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Frome’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 26,300 people in 2011; 29,000 in 2024.
Between mid-2017 and mid-2018 the population rose by 470, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+40%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−10%).
20% of residents are 65 or over, below 62% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Frome, 42.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Frome sits below 67% of UK towns for full-time students (4.5%)
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%.
Here nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across England’s towns is 11%. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Frome sits above 72% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (2.9%)
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.
The figure for one-person households is 31% in Frome and 30% across England’s towns. Higher than in 68% of UK towns: 29% of households have dependent children. The share of shared households of unrelated adults across England’s towns is 4.3%. The average household has 2.3 people.
Frome ranks above 57% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 17%
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
Households in detached houses are about as common here as across England’s towns: 21%. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 8.1% in Frome, more than in 65% 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (4.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Frome has fewer residents whose main language is English than 64% of UK towns, at 97%. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 14% of residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 40%, a lower share than 92% 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: 91% of Frome · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Chinese (0.3%). 91% of residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 60% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%.
A larger share of adults who have never married than 67% of UK towns: 35%
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
With married adults and civil partners at 45%, Frome is behind 71% of UK towns on that count. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 663. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 63% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 34% of Frome’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 40 in Frome South & East to 49 in Frome North East
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Frome North East is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Frome South & East the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Frome South & East (32% of households).
117th oldest of 238 UK towns of 20,000 to 38,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Frome in age: Long Eaton (42.6), Bedworth (42.6), Ashington (42.7) and Consett (42.7).
Of the 7 towns nearest Frome, 6 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frome | 27,904 | — | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
| Beckington | 1,001 | 3 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 27% |
| Dilton Marsh | 1,958 | 4.5 mi | 50.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Norton St Philip | 1,004 | 5 mi | 53.6 | 32% | 25% |
| Coleford | 2,235 | 5.5 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 27% |
| Southwick | 1,856 | 6 mi | 46.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Westbury | 16,394 | 6.1 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 29% |
| Warminster | 18,018 | 6.1 mi | 46 | 24% | 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 Frome’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. Frome’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 28,565 people in 2021, against 27,904 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 Frome’s residents
What is the population of Frome?
The 2021 Census counted 27,904 people in Frome’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 29,000 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Frome?
The median age was 42.6 at the 2021 Census, younger than 65% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Frome?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Frome?
51% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Frome good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Frome South & East (32% of households). Schools are on Frome’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.