Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0Pilton is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 51.9
The share of households in flats is 1.1%, against 23% across England’s towns. 1,104 residents in 454 households: that is Pilton at the 2021 Census. Locally, 62% of households live in a detached house. Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 84% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Pilton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Pilton’s residents are under 51.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% 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).
28% of residents are 65 or over, a share 86% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Pilton, 9.3%. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
3.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 98% 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%.
By class, just over two in five adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 17% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Pilton has fewer residents who moved in within the year than 86% of UK towns, at 6.9%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A smaller share of one-person households than 93% of UK towns: 23%
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns: 4.9%. The average household has 2.4 people. Elsewhere, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
6.1% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 97% 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
Terraced houses are home to just over one in ten households, against 24% across England’s towns. One household in 16 has no car or van.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 80% of UK towns: 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
8% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 90% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.9%).
A higher White British share than 57% of UK towns: 93% of residents
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: 93% of Pilton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (5.3%), Caribbean (0.4%) and Chinese (0.3%). Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns. The share of residents with no religion is 41%, against 37% across England’s towns.
56% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 91% 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 23 residents. Adults who have never married are rarer here than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. On average, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are about as common here as across England’s towns: 8.8%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 39%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Pilton, 39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 15% have no qualification at all (18%).
Every neighbour of Pilton has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pilton | 1,104 | — | 51.9 | 28% | 23% |
| Shepton Mallet | 9,645 | 2.3 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 27% |
| Evercreech | 2,165 | 3.6 mi | 49.1 | 26% | 23% |
| Wells | 12,097 | 4.1 mi | 50.7 | 30% | 22% |
| Glastonbury | 8,304 | 5.7 mi | 50.6 | 25% | 20% |
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | 6 mi | 51.9 | 32% | 21% |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 6.9 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Keinton Mandeville | 1,216 | 7 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 27% |
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 Pilton’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 Pilton’s residents
What is the population of Pilton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,104 people in Pilton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pilton?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pilton?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pilton?
41% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8% didn’t answer.
Is Pilton good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pilton’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.