Photo: P.R. Clarke · Public domainHouseholds without a car or van: 7.4%, a lower share than 94% of UK towns
Here 3% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. The 2021 Census put Puriton’s population at 2,265, in 981 households. Across Puriton, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British. On one-person households, Puriton sits lower than 87% of UK towns: 25%.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 26% in Puriton, more than in 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.4%, against 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.7% of residents. Half of Puriton’s residents are over 47.5, older than in 72% of UK towns.
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.
Full-time students make up 3.2% in Puriton, less 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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Puriton comes in at 7.6%. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Puriton sits below 83% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (1.7%)
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.
Households average 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Against that, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Census figures put households with dependent children at 26% in Puriton.
40% of households live in a detached house, more than in 76% 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
16% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
In Puriton, 4.3% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 73% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 98% of residents have English as their main language here.
Above 60% of UK towns: 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Puriton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Just over two in five residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2%), Indian (0.4%) and Bangladeshi (0.1%).
Adults who have never married make up 27% in Puriton, less than in 83% 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
The share of married adults and civil partners tops just over four fifths of UK towns: 53%. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. On the census count, 10% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Puriton’s adults: 26% with a degree-level qualification and 17% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Puriton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Puriton | 2,265 | — | 47.5 | 26% | 26% |
| Woolavington | 2,324 | 1.6 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Bridgwater | 47,846 | 3.1 mi | 37.5 | 15% | 31% |
| Wembdon | 1,772 | 3.2 mi | 51.3 | 28% | 25% |
| Highbridge | 5,366 | 3.7 mi | 42 | 21% | 28% |
| Cannington | 2,315 | 4.1 mi | 48.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Westonzoyland | 1,463 | 4.6 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 25% |
| Burnham-on-Sea | 16,317 | 4.8 mi | 53.3 | 33% | 20% |
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 Puriton’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 Puriton’s residents
What is the population of Puriton?
The 2021 Census counted 2,265 people in Puriton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Puriton?
The median age was 47.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Puriton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Puriton?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Puriton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Puriton’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.