Photo: Timkevan · Public domain

64Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Half of Porlock is over 64, older than 99% of UK towns

Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Porlock has 10%. Here, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 89% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,178 residents and 609 households locally.

48%aged 65 or over 3.2%born abroad 609households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Porlock’s people

64median age, older than 99% of UK towns 12%of residents give unpaid care; England’s towns 8.7%

Older than most towns

Half of Porlock’s residents are under 64 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 48% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Many carers

138 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 96% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

In Porlock, 48% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

PorlockEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 5.1% in Porlock. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 158.1%

15 to 245.1%

25 to 4411%

45 to 6428%

65 and over48%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

54% women, 46% men

Porlock

England

WomenMen

About 86 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.

Students & newcomers

In Porlock, 2.1% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 99% 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

Full-time students2.1%

Higher managerial and professional12%

Lower managerial and professional19%

Intermediate11%

Small employers and self-employed23%

Supervisory and technical5%

Semi-routine13%

Routine8.5%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.7%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Porlock

11%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

123

residents, 10%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.9× England’s share

Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Porlock, 31% and 21%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. The census found that 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in the village.

Households

Porlock households average 1.9 people, smaller than in 99% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 23%Living alone, under 66 11%Families with dependent children 10%Couples and families, no young children 53%Shared houses and other 2.5%

Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns

Porlock

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person34%

2 people51%

3 people7.3%

4 people4.8%

5 or more2.8%

England’s towns.

2.5% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Here, just over a third of households are one person living alone.

Homes & cars

A larger share of households in detached houses than 68% of UK towns: 36%

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Porlock

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van14%

One51%

Two25%

Three or more10%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Just over one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%. In Porlock, 26% of households live in a terraced house.

Where people were born

Porlock: 100% of residents have English as their main language, above 99% 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%

Porlock

3.2%

Somerset’s towns

9.6%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language100%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.3%

Another main language, little or no English0.1%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

In Porlock, 3.2% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns. 100% of residents have English as their main language.

Ethnicity & religion

57% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 86% 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

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.4%

Asian0.3%

Mixed0.5%

Black0%

Other0.1%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 98% of Porlock · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion35%

Christian57%

Muslim0.2%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.3%

Other religion0.7%

Didn’t answer7.4%

0%35%70%

Set against 37% across England’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion in Porlock. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Porlock sits below 99% of UK towns for adults who have never married (19%)

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership19%

Married or civil partnership55%

Separated1.8%

Divorced13%

Widowed11%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

138residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 12%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.2%

20 to 49 hours1.8%

50 hours or more3.9%

Unpaid carers: 12% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. For 45 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Elsewhere, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.

Qualifications

32% of adults hold a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications18%

Apprenticeship6.6%

A levels or similar15%

Degree level32%

PorlockSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

32% of Porlock’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%).

Neighbours

Porlock is older than every town around it

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

MineheadWatchetPorlock

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Porlock	1,178	—	64	48%	10%
Minehead	11,752	5.2 mi	54.3	34%	18%
Watchet	3,643	11.7 mi	51.8	31%	19%

More about Porlock’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health C⁺Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute DIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living C⁻Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Porlock’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 Porlock’s residents

What is the population of Porlock?

The 2021 Census counted 1,178 people in Porlock’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Porlock?

The median age was 64 at the 2021 Census. 5.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 48% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Porlock?

98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Porlock?

35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.

Is Porlock good for families?

10% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Porlock’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.