Church of St Peter · Photo: Lobsterthermidor · Public domainFew flats: only 2.3% of households in Ilton live in one
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van; in Ilton, 7.5%. Its 389 households held 952 residents at the 2021 Census. In Ilton, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British. One-person households are rarer here than in 88% of UK towns.
Half of Ilton is under 42.7, younger than 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 20% of residents are 65 or over in Ilton. Here, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
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.
Full-time students make up 5.4% in Ilton, more than in 73% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over a quarter of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 31% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.2% in Ilton.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Ilton sits above 86% of UK towns for households with dependent children (32%)
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Ilton, 2.5. Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 51% of UK towns. For comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Above 57% of UK towns: 32% of households live in a detached house
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
23% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. The share of households in detached houses across England’s towns is 21%.
100% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 99% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 18%; Ilton has 3.7%. For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.2%) and in EU countries (1.1%).
More residents with no religion than 82% of UK towns: 46%
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 Ilton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Ilton has fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 73% of UK towns, at 46%. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.2%). On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Only 7.6% of residents give unpaid care in Ilton
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
15 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 65% of UK towns. The usual figure: nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%; Ilton has 32%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 26%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Ilton counts 26% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 18% have no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of Ilton has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilton | 952 | — | 42.7 | 20% | 32% |
| Ilminster | 5,961 | 2 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Horton and Broadway | 1,212 | 2.3 mi | 54.9 | 34% | 20% |
| North Curry | 1,057 | 5.1 mi | 52.9 | 34% | 21% |
| South Petherton | 3,096 | 5.2 mi | 53.5 | 35% | 22% |
| Curry Rivel | 2,009 | 5.3 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 23% |
| Chard | 14,287 | 5.6 mi | 44.5 | 24% | 26% |
| Merriott | 2,068 | 6.6 mi | 51.3 | 30% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Ilton’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 Ilton’s residents
What is the population of Ilton?
The 2021 Census counted 952 people in Ilton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ilton?
The median age was 42.7 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ilton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ilton?
46% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Ilton good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ilton’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.