Photo: Sarah Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Merriott is over 51.3, older than 90% of UK towns
With adults who have never married at 25%, Merriott is behind 93% of UK towns on that count. Census day 2021: 2,068 residents and 914 households in the village. Locally, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. Nearly one in ten households have no car or van, a lower share than in 88% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Merriott’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Merriott’s residents are under 51.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Above 90% of UK towns: 30% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
On the census count, 9.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24. 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
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.
4.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 64% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 9.5%, Merriott is ahead of 65% of UK towns on that count. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.5%, a lower share than 91% 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.
By its share of one-person households (28%), Merriott is below 66% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Average household size: 2.2 people.
3.6% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 90% 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
27% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 26%. The usual figure: 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 98% of UK towns, at 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.7%) and in Africa (0.7%). Measured more widely, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, Merriott sits lower than 78% of UK towns: 4%.
97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 95% 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: 97% of Merriott · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here 36% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. In Merriott, 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Married adults and civil partners make up 54% in Merriott, more than in 84% 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 52 residents. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Higher than in 58% of UK towns: 9.6% of residents give unpaid care.
Qualified to degree level: 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 30% of Merriott’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have no qualification (18%).
Merriott is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merriott | 2,068 | — | 51.3 | 30% | 23% |
| Crewkerne | 7,067 | 1.9 mi | 49.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Misterton | 1,037 | 2.7 mi | 50.4 | 27% | 21% |
| South Petherton | 3,096 | 2.8 mi | 53.5 | 35% | 22% |
| Stoke sub Hamdon | 1,360 | 3.7 mi | 51.2 | 27% | 22% |
| Martock | 4,079 | 4.6 mi | 50.8 | 29% | 20% |
| Ilminster | 5,961 | 5.5 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Yeovil | 50,170 | 7.2 mi | 40 | 19% | 28% |
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 Merriott’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 Merriott’s residents
What is the population of Merriott?
The 2021 Census counted 2,068 people in Merriott’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Merriott?
The median age was 51.3 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Merriott?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Merriott?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Merriott good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Merriott’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.