Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 5,961 in Somerset, South West.
Ilminster grades C overall against UK towns: better than 30% of UK towns, and #27 of 49 in Somerset. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 6.2% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £250,000 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the South Somerset council area earn in a year.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Somerset, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Ilminster does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ilminster is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 144 buildings inside Ilminster’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
20% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ilminster.
In the comparison, Ilminster comes above both Somerset’s towns (23%) and England’s towns (18%). 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Half the people of Ilminster are older than 48.3.
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Ilminster | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.8% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Herne View Church of England PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 401 | D |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For Ilminster, that is above both Somerset’s towns (90) and England’s towns (39). Ilminster’s listed buildings include Parish Church of St Mary, Grade I. Ilminster has 144 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 7 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Ilminster sits below both Somerset’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. 80% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Police recorded 289 crimes inside Ilminster’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 58 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 50% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
80% of Ilminster’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 82% across Somerset’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Ilminster | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
That puts Ilminster below both Somerset’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 68% of households own their home.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £385,000 | 55 |
| Semi-detached | £260,000 | 89 |
| Terraced | £230,000 | 117 |
| Flat or maisonette | £157,500 | 28 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
144 listed buildings in Ilminster, 1 of them Grade I.
George Hotel: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Chantry: Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph · Greenfylde School: Photo: Stevekeiretsu · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Barclays Bank: Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0
7 notable people were born in Ilminster.
John Edward Taylor: University of Manchester Library, Public domain · Colin Callander: Elliott & Fry, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilminster | 5,961 | — | C | B− | B− | B− |
| Horton and Broadway | 1,212 | 2.3 | — | D | A | B |
| Chard | 14,287 | 3.9 | C | B | D | C− |
| South Petherton | 3,096 | 5 | C | D | C | B |
| Merriott | 2,068 | 5.5 | — | B− | A | B |
| Tatworth | 2,287 | 5.8 | — | B− | A | A− |
| Crewkerne | 7,067 | 6.1 | C | B− | C | C+ |
| Curry Rivel | 2,009 | 7 | — | C− | B− | B |
Horton and Broadway, Merriott, Tatworth and Curry Rivel have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 9.9 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Mary.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Primary results trail 86% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Somerset council.
Town in Somerset, England
Ilminster is a built-up area of 5,961 people, in the South Somerset council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.