Photo: My another account · Public domainRode is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52.2
Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Rode, 25%. The village’s 347 households held 766 residents at the 2021 Census. Locally, 2.3% of households live in a flat or apartment. Fewer households with dependent children than in 81% of UK towns: 24%.
8% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
26% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 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.
Above 96% of UK towns: 14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 Rode, 49% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 15% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, 5.2% of adults are full-time students. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 74% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
Set against 30% across England’s towns, 31% of households are one person living alone in Rode. Here, 3.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 98% of UK towns, at 5.2%
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
Households in detached houses: 36%, above just over two thirds of UK towns. As a yardstick, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 31%.
Rode: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 90% 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
Here 7.7% of residents were born outside the UK, where the figure across England’s towns is 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.2%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 94% in Rode, more than in 70% 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 Rode · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up 52% of residents, against 46% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 73% across England’s towns. Here, 41% of residents said they have no religion.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 87% of UK towns, at 55%
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
10% of residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
48% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Rode counts 48% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 6.9% have no qualification (18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Rode
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rode | 766 | — | 52.2 | 26% | 24% |
| Beckington | 1,001 | 1.1 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 27% |
| Norton St Philip | 1,004 | 2.2 mi | 53.6 | 32% | 25% |
| Southwick | 1,856 | 2.4 mi | 46.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Westwood | 1,001 | 3.4 mi | 54.4 | 35% | 21% |
| North Bradley | 1,555 | 3.4 mi | 51.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Dilton Marsh | 1,958 | 3.7 mi | 50.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Frome | 27,904 | 4 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Rode’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 Rode’s residents
What is the population of Rode?
The 2021 Census counted 766 people in Rode’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rode?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rode?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 7.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rode?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Rode good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rode’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.