Photo: Rodw at English Wikipedia Rod Ward · Public domainPaulton is younger than 81% of UK towns: a median age of 39.8
At 2.4 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 6,502 residents in 2,715 households. Here, just over one in ten households have no car or van. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 94% here, more than in 69% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Paulton’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Paulton at 5,300 in 2011 and 6,600 in 2024, up 24%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 90% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
A +24% change since 2011: faster than 90% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Paulton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,300 people in 2011; 6,600 in 2024.
The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2016: 310 more people. The 30 to 44 age group moved most (+36%); the 45 to 64 group moved least (+5%).
10% of residents are 15 to 24, more than in 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents. Fewer residents aged 65 and over than in 60% of UK towns: 20%. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Paulton, 39.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 74% of UK towns, at 7.6%
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 Paulton, 30% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students stands at 5%. By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Paulton sits below 64% of UK towns for one-person households (28%)
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.
Here 30% of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. Paulton has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 53% of UK towns, at 2.3%.
A smaller share of households in detached houses than 69% of UK towns: 22%
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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households live in a terraced house; in Paulton, 22%. The comparison figure for households in detached houses is 21% across England’s towns. The census found that 12% of households live in a flat or apartment here.
5% born outside the UK, fewer than in 64% 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
Against a figure of 90% across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English in Paulton comes in at 98%. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
48% said they have no religion, more than in 90% 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: 94% of Paulton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.2%). To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. At 43%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is lower than in 84% of UK towns.
Above 59% of UK towns: 34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
148 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. At 9%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 59% of UK towns. On average, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Paulton, 19%, while 26% hold one at degree level (34%).
Of 473 UK towns its size (5,000 to 9,000 people), the 67th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Red Lodge is the youngest (30.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Paulton in age: Bolton upon Dearne (39.8), Blackheath (39.8), Shefford (39.9) and Arlesey (39.9).
Paulton sits below 6 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paulton | 6,502 | — | 39.8 | 20% | 30% |
| High Littleton | 1,655 | 1.2 mi | 46 | 23% | 29% |
| Midsomer Norton | 13,749 | 1.8 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 28% |
| Timsbury | 2,506 | 1.8 mi | 49.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Temple Cloud | 1,518 | 1.9 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 31% |
| Clutton | 1,630 | 2.2 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 36% |
| Radstock | 9,983 | 2.4 mi | 38.5 | 17% | 32% |
| Farmborough | 1,106 | 2.6 mi | 48.2 | 26% | 25% |
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 Paulton’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. Paulton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,502 people in 2021, against 6,502 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 Paulton’s residents
What is the population of Paulton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,502 people in Paulton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,600 people in mid-2024, 24% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Paulton?
The median age was 39.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 81% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Paulton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Paulton?
48% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Paulton good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Paulton’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.