Photo: The original uploader was Nabokov at English Wikipedia . · CC BY-SA 3.02.1% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
Nearly half of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%. For Mells, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.8%. One-person households are more common here than in 81% of UK towns. The village had 340 residents in 145 households at the 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 68% of UK towns, at 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Mells’s residents are over 45.6, older than in 58% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
6.3% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 95% 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%.
In Mells, 26% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 28% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across Mells, 5.5% of adults are full-time students. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Mells households average 2.4 people, larger than in 70% of UK towns
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 share of households with dependent children tops three fifths of UK towns: 28%. Locally, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Mells sits below 56% of UK towns for households in detached houses (27%)
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
22% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. On top of that, households without a car or van are more common here than in 50% of UK towns. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns.
Above 97% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in Africa (1.2%). For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 72% of UK towns: 4.4%.
Above 98% of UK towns: 97% 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: 97% of Mells · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 40%, below 92% of UK towns. The wider picture: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Fewer unpaid carers than 96% of UK towns: 7%
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 number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 12. Set beside that, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Mells sits lower than 71% of UK towns: 45%. The share of adults who have never married tops just over half of UK towns: 32%.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 28% of adults in Mells, 34% across England’s towns; 23% have no qualification, against 18%.
Around Mells, 4 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mells | 340 | — | 45.6 | 24% | 28% |
| Coleford | 2,235 | 2.2 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 27% |
| Frome | 27,904 | 3.3 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
| Radstock | 9,983 | 4.4 mi | 38.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Midsomer Norton | 13,749 | 4.9 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Chilcompton | 1,857 | 5 mi | 48.1 | 23% | 29% |
| Beckington | 1,001 | 5.1 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 27% |
| Norton St Philip | 1,004 | 5.2 mi | 53.6 | 32% | 25% |
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 Mells’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 Mells’s residents
What is the population of Mells?
The 2021 Census counted 340 people in Mells’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Mells?
The median age was 45.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mells?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mells?
49% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Mells good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Mells’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.