Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
1,476 residents make their home in this village in Somerset, South West. Over-65s are 33% of the population.
Health is its strong suit — men here can expect to live to 81.4, women to 86.7. Homes sell for a median £316,250, about 6.3 years of what households in the Somerset West and Taunton council area earn. Its weakest is schools (C−) — primary results beat 7% of towns in England; secondary results beat 46% of towns in England. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Environment Agency. An overall grade needs 2,500 residents, so Ruishton is graded subject by subject only.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Somerset, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Ruishton does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Ruishton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Ruishton’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
13% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ruishton.
People aged 15 to 24 are 9.1% of the population. 14% are under 15, below Somerset’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike. Half of Ruishton is older than 54.1, half younger. Graduates make up 28% of adults.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Ruishton | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 33% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
At the 11 primary schools within 3 km, nearly half of pupils reach the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). There is one school here; it is shown below. Attainment 8 at the 2 secondary schools within 3 km averages 45.7, and 43% of pupils get grade 5 or above in English and maths.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ruishton Church of England SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 215 | C− |
Violence and sexual offences made up 43% of the total. Police figures for Ruishton’s built-up area: 72 crimes and 11 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Also worth knowing: among the 1,541 UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, Ruishton has more crime per resident than 90% of them.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Four in five households own their home. Social housing holds 8% of households, below both Somerset’s towns (14%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,016 a month across the Somerset council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £380,000 | 27 |
| Semi-detached | £305,000 | 25 |
| Terraced | £251,250 | 10 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
There is no GP practice in Ruishton: the nearest is 1 miles off. 6.8% of residents described their health as bad or very bad, above both Somerset’s towns (5.1%) and England’s towns (5.2%). A disability affects 21% of people in the town. Women here live to 86.7 on average and men to 81.4 (2019–23).
| Census 2021 | Ruishton | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Ruishton’s listed buildings include the Church of St George, Grade I. 13% of its homes were built before 1919, below Somerset’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (16%) alike. At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 2 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.5% of 16 to 64s in 2026, below both Somerset’s towns (2.1%) and England’s towns (2.3%). 85% of commuters drove to work at the census. There are 0.5 jobs in Ruishton for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ruishton. Best known first.
CastleTaunton Castle3.4 km outside town, to the west
FortTaunton Stop Line2.8 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumHestercombe House4.2 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumMuseum of Somerset3.4 km outside town, to the west
GardenHestercombe Gardens4.2 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumSomerset Cricket Museum3 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruishton | 1,476 | — | — | C− | C− | B+ |
| Creech St Michael | 2,327 | 0.8 | — | C | B− | B+ |
| Monkton Heathfield | 4,584 | 1.4 | C+ | B− | C− | B+ |
| Taunton | 61,667 | 2.3 | C− | C | D | C |
| North Curry | 1,057 | 3.3 | — | D | A+ | A− |
| Trull | 1,427 | 3.4 | — | D | A | A |
| Norton Fitzwarren | 3,770 | 4.3 | B− | B | C | C |
| North Petherton | 3,180 | 5.5 | C− | C | C− | C+ |
Creech St Michael, North Curry and Trull have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St George.
Burglary was rare, with 2 reports in the year.
GCSE results trail 54% of towns in England, and primary results trail 93% (Department for Education, Attainment 8 and Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Somerset council.
Village in Somerset, England
Ruishton is a built-up area of 1,476 people, in the Somerset West and Taunton council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.