Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 11,752 in Somerset, South West. 151 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I.
Minehead grades D− overall against UK towns: better than 4% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 36% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 14% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £260,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the Somerset West and Taunton council area earn in a year.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Somerset, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Minehead does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Minehead is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 151 buildings inside Minehead’s built-up area, 5 of them Grade II*.
26% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1893 and a map from c. 1946.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Minehead. Best known first.
Historic house · National TrustDunster Castle1.5 km outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseHolnicote Estate4 km outside town, to the west
MuseumWest Somerset Rural Life Museum and Victorian School4.7 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumMinehead Museumin townMuseumMuseumDunster Doll Museum1.3 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Minehead.
The share of residents under 15 is 12%, and on top of that 9% of residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Somerset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Ages in Minehead split evenly at 54.3: half are older, half younger. Also worth knowing: among adults, 25% have a degree.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Minehead | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 12% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.5% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed. At the one primary school within 3 km, 36% of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Some 1,749 pupils attend Minehead’s two primaries and two secondaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minehead First SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 286 | – |
| West Somerset CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 745 | C |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
61% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work. The car took 62% of commuters, below both Somerset’s towns (76%) and England’s towns (70%). Unemployment benefit claims reached 2.8% of 16 to 64s in 2026. Of the commuters living in Minehead, 58% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Minehead has 128 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, above Somerset’s towns (90) and England’s towns (39) alike. This Somerset town counts 151 listed buildings on the national list (Historic England): 5 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 15.5 reports per 1,000, above Somerset’s towns (7.2) and England’s towns (7.8) alike. Reported offences in Minehead came to 1,060 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 188. Per 1,000 residents, 12.8 burglaries and acts of damage are recorded a year. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Minehead has more crime per resident than just over four fifths of them.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
At the census, three quarters of people in Minehead called their health good or very good, below both Somerset’s towns (82%) and England’s towns (82%). 6.9% of residents report bad or very bad health. The nearest A&E to Minehead is Musgrove Park Hospital, 20.3 miles away. Women here live to 82.7 on average and men to 78 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Minehead | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.9% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
13% live in social housing, lower than both Somerset’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). The median sale, £260,000, comes from 550 standard sales inside Minehead’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026. Private rents average £1,016 a month across the Somerset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £385,000 | 135 |
| Semi-detached | £295,000 | 138 |
| Terraced | £230,000 | 119 |
| Flat or maisonette | £147,878 | 158 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
151 listed buildings in Minehead.
Statue of Queen Anne: Photo: Steve Daniels · CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Kildare Lodge Inn: Photo: Harrias · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Church of St Andrew: Photo: Nigel Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Elgin Tower: Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0
10 notable people were born in Minehead.
Arthur C. Clarke: ITU Pictures, CC BY 2.0 · Richard Chorley: Rwc1966 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tony Lawson: Matt2341, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 5.3 times the typical UK town for its size.
GCSE results trail 80% of towns in England, and primary results trail almost all (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2).
Town in Somerset, England
Minehead is a built-up area of 11,752 people, in the Somerset West and Taunton council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.