Photo: Rodw · Public domainIn Locking, 35% of households have dependent children, more than in 93% of UK towns
The share of households without a car or van trails 92% of UK towns: 7.9%. Compared with other places, households in flats are scarce here: 6.7%, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 3,819 residents in Locking, living in 1,553 households. Census figures put one-person households at 23% here.
What the Census says about Locking’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Locking at 2,400 in 2011 and 4,200 in 2024, up 78%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
A town of families
35% of Locking’s 1,553 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 93% of UK towns. 21% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Locking’s residents are under 38.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 8.9% are 15 to 24 and 18% are 65 or over. 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.
From 2011 to 2024, Locking outgrew 99% of UK towns: +78%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Locking’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,400 people in 2011; 4,200 in 2024.
Split by age, the 16 to 29 changed most (+136%) and the 65 and over least (+52%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2015: 300 more people.
Locking is younger than 87% of UK towns: a median age of 38.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.9%, against 12% across England’s towns. The census found that 18% of residents are 65 or over in Locking.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Locking, 38.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Locking: 5.3% of adults are full-time students, above 68% 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 third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 25% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 9.5%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 84% of UK towns: 2.5 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.
By its share of shared households of unrelated adults (2.6%), Locking is above 64% of UK towns.
Households in terraced houses make up 14% in Locking, less than in 75% 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
By its share of households in detached houses (27%), Locking is below 55% of UK towns. Typically, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
In Locking, 96% of residents have English as their main language, fewer than in 72% 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
4.7% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Locally, 7.8% of residents were born outside the UK.
In Locking, 50% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 94% 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 Locking · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 43% in Locking. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (5.8%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.5%). Lower than in 55% of UK towns: 91% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Married adults and civil partners: 52%, a higher share than 75% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 91 residents. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. At 31%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in just over three fifths of UK towns. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 8.7%, from the figure across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Locking’s adults: 29% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
44th lowest median age among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Locking in age: Elsenham (38.6), Edwalton (38.7), Horsford (38.8) and Moulton (38.9).
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Locking 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Locking | 3,819 | — | 38.7 | 18% | 35% |
| Hutton | 1,686 | 1 mi | 57.8 | 38% | 18% |
| West Wick | 2,425 | 1.4 mi | 33.3 | 7.4% | 45% |
| Banwell | 2,178 | 1.7 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Weston-super-Mare | 84,600 | 1.9 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Kewstoke | 1,609 | 3.3 mi | 54.8 | 32% | 18% |
| Winscombe and Sandford | 4,605 | 3.4 mi | 53.8 | 34% | 22% |
| Shipham | 1,104 | 5.1 mi | 53.1 | 30% | 24% |
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 Locking’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. Locking’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,607 people in 2021, against 3,819 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 Locking’s residents
What is the population of Locking?
The 2021 Census counted 3,819 people in Locking’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,200 people in mid-2024, 78% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Locking?
The median age was 38.7 at the 2021 Census, younger than 87% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Locking?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 7.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Locking?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Locking good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Locking’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.