Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of households with dependent children than 87% of UK towns: 23%
Here nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, where the figure across England’s towns is 12%. Across Ilminster, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 84% of UK towns. The town had 5,961 residents in 2,798 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Ilminster’s people
Many older residents
29% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 87% of UK towns; 21% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
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.
+2% since 2011: slower than 76% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ilminster’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 6,100 people in 2011; 6,200 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2021 to mid-2022: 110. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+22%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−16%).
29% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Ilminster is 48.3, higher than in 76% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ilminster, 48.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
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.
A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 3%
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%.
By class, nearly a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 28% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On the census count, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 91% 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.
2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A larger share of households in flats than 64% of UK towns: 14%
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
With households in detached houses at 22%, Ilminster is behind just over two thirds of UK towns on that count. Households without a car or van: 15% of the total. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 82% of UK towns: 99%
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
Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in Ilminster it is 4.5%. The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 90% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
Above 85% of UK towns: 96% of residents describe themselves as White British
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 Ilminster · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
52% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 73% across England’s towns, for comparison. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.4%).
Ilminster sits below 73% of UK towns for adults who have never married (29%)
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
The share of married adults and civil partners trails 60% of UK towns: 46%. Against that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here, 7.8% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 28% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
28% of Ilminster’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
192nd highest median age among 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Ilminster in age: Balsall Common (48.2), Shipston-on-Stour (48.2), Llantrisant (48.3) and Wigton (48.4).
Nearby, 6 of 7 towns have older populations than Ilminster
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilminster | 5,961 | — | 48.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Horton and Broadway | 1,212 | 2.3 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 20% |
| Chard | 14,287 | 3.9 mi | 44.5 | 24% | 26% |
| South Petherton | 3,096 | 5 mi | 53.5 | 35% | 22% |
| Merriott | 2,068 | 5.5 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 23% |
| Tatworth | 2,287 | 5.8 mi | 52.3 | 31% | 22% |
| Crewkerne | 7,067 | 6.1 mi | 49.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Curry Rivel | 2,009 | 7 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 23% |
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 Ilminster’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. Ilminster’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,141 people in 2021, against 5,961 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 Ilminster’s residents
What is the population of Ilminster?
The 2021 Census counted 5,961 people in Ilminster’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,200 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ilminster?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 76% of UK towns. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ilminster?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ilminster?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Ilminster good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ilminster’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.