Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 96% of UK towns: half of Shapwick is over 54.4
Shared households of unrelated adults are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Shapwick’s population at 444, in 192 households. Census figures put households without a car or van at 5.7% here. Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Shapwick comes in at 59%.
In Shapwick, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 81% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: 13% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. On the census count, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
5.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
6.8% of adults are full-time students; across England’s towns the figure is 7.9%. As a yardstick, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children make up 24% in Shapwick, less than in 79% of UK towns
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Shapwick, 2.3. The share of one-person households stands at 27%. The comparison figure for households with dependent children is 29% across England’s towns.
In Shapwick, 0.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 99% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 13% of households live in a terraced house here. More households in detached houses than in 92% of UK towns: 53%. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Above 95% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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 (1.8%) or in Africa (0.9%). Across the comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are scarce here: 3.6%, fewer than in 83% of UK towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 92% of UK towns: 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 Shapwick · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
39% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Shapwick sits higher than 74% of UK towns: 54%. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Shapwick sits below 94% of UK towns for adults who have never married (24%)
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
Where nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, Shapwick has 10%. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. 12 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
A degree-level qualification for 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
35% of Shapwick’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%). Many still at university: 16% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Older than Shapwick: 1 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shapwick | 444 | — | 54.4 | 27% | 24% |
| Walton | 1,149 | 3.1 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 30% |
| Street | 12,707 | 4.2 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Westonzoyland | 1,463 | 4.7 mi | 47.7 | 25% | 25% |
| Woolavington | 2,324 | 4.9 mi | 50.6 | 28% | 22% |
| Glastonbury | 8,304 | 5.2 mi | 50.6 | 25% | 20% |
| Wedmore | 1,424 | 5.9 mi | 56.6 | 38% | 21% |
| Puriton | 2,265 | 6.5 mi | 47.5 | 26% | 26% |
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 Shapwick’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 Shapwick’s residents
What is the population of Shapwick?
The 2021 Census counted 444 people in Shapwick’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shapwick?
The median age was 54.4 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shapwick?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shapwick?
39% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Shapwick good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shapwick’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.