Photo: Geof Sheppard · CC BY-SA 4.0Half of Ruishton is over 54.1, older than 95% of UK towns
Adults who have never married make up 24%, against 39% across England’s towns. The share of households with dependent children stands at 22%. 13% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 79% of UK towns. Ruishton had 1,476 residents in 672 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Ruishton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Ruishton’s residents are under 54.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
162 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 93% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of UK towns, at 33%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24; in Ruishton, 9.1%. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 6% in Ruishton, less than in 97% 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, 34% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The usual figure: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Locally, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
Smaller households than 76% 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.
The share of one-person households tops 71% of UK towns: 32%. The census found that 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Ruishton.
Few flats: only 1.3% of households in Ruishton live in one
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
The share of households without a car or van is 11%, against 24% across England’s towns. Higher than in 87% of UK towns: 47% of households live in a detached house. Set beside that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 78% of UK towns: 3.9%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.2%). The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Ruishton sits above 93% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (96%)
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: 96% of Ruishton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 46% across England’s towns, 55% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Ruishton. Census figures put residents with no religion at 39% here. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns.
Ruishton ranks above 93% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 11%
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
Here 52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 54.
Among adults, 28% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Ruishton’s adults: 28% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
The towns around Ruishton are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruishton | 1,476 | — | 54.1 | 33% | 22% |
| Creech St Michael | 2,327 | 0.8 mi | 46.6 | 27% | 30% |
| Monkton Heathfield | 4,584 | 1.4 mi | 34.2 | 12% | 40% |
| Taunton | 61,667 | 2.3 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 26% |
| North Curry | 1,057 | 3.3 mi | 52.9 | 34% | 21% |
| Trull | 1,427 | 3.4 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 29% |
| Norton Fitzwarren | 3,770 | 4.3 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 31% |
| North Petherton | 3,180 | 5.5 mi | 50.5 | 29% | 23% |
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 Ruishton’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 Ruishton’s residents
What is the population of Ruishton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,476 people in Ruishton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Ruishton?
The median age was 54.1 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ruishton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ruishton?
39% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Ruishton good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ruishton’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.