Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0

53.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Shipham is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.1

The share of households in terraced houses trails 96% of UK towns: 6.6%. On the census count, four in five households live in a detached house. Shipham has more married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns, at 62%. At the 2021 Census Shipham was home to 1,104 people in 467 households.

30%aged 65 or over 7.2%born abroad 467households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Shipham’s people

53.1median age, older than 94% of UK towns

Older than most towns

Half of Shipham’s residents are under 53.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 96% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

ShiphamEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Compared with 18% across England’s towns, 30% of residents are 65 or over here. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1515%

15 to 247.6%

25 to 4417%

45 to 6431%

65 and over30%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Shipham

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.4% in Shipham, less than in 78% 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

Full-time students4.5%

Higher managerial and professional21%

Lower managerial and professional27%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed15%

Supervisory and technical2.7%

Semi-routine8.1%

Routine6.2%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3.5%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Shipham

7.5%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 7.4%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.4× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs account for 48% of Shipham’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 14%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. Here, 4.5% of adults are full-time students.

Households

Fewer one-person households than 87% of UK towns: 25%

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 16%Living alone, under 66 8.4%Families with dependent children 24%Couples and families, no young children 48%Shared houses and other 3%

Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns

Shipham

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person24%

2 people43%

3 people15%

4 people12%

5 or more5.1%

England’s towns.

Set against 29% across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children in Shipham. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Locally, 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.

Homes & cars

Households without a car or van: 4.5%, a lower share than 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

Shipham

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van4.5%

One29%

Two44%

Three or more23%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

In Shipham, 1.7% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. Typically, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Shipham, more than in 83% 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%

Shipham

7.2%

Somerset’s towns

9.6%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1%

Another main language, little or no English0.1%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

The share of residents born outside the UK is 7.2%, against 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.1%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

In Shipham, 44% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 72% 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

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White3.7%

Asian1%

Mixed1.6%

Black0.5%

Other0.1%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 93% of Shipham · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion44%

Christian47%

Muslim0.1%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.9%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer6.9%

0%30%60%

46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 47% in Shipham. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 93% here, more than in nearly three fifths of UK towns. The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (3.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.5%).

Relationships & caring

Adults who have never married make up 22% in Shipham, less than in 98% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership22%

Married or civil partnership62%

Separated1.5%

Divorced8.2%

Widowed6.5%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

100residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 9.4%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.4%

20 to 49 hours1%

50 hours or more2%

Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 21 people. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 9.4% here, more than in just over half of UK towns. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.

Qualifications

47% of adults have a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications11%

Apprenticeship4.5%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level47%

ShiphamSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

At degree level, Shipham counts 47% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 11% have no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

Shipham and its 7 nearest towns: 1 of them are older

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

ChurchillWinscombe and SandfordAxbridgeCheddarWringtonBanwellBlagdonShipham

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Shipham	1,104	—	53.1	30%	24%
Churchill	1,989	1.6 mi	41.6	21%	30%
Winscombe and Sandford	4,605	1.7 mi	53.8	34%	22%
Axbridge	1,998	2.2 mi	49.2	24%	25%
Cheddar	5,841	2.7 mi	49.1	27%	25%
Wrington	1,997	3.4 mi	49.5	27%	26%
Banwell	2,178	3.4 mi	50.6	28%	24%
Blagdon	1,056	3.4 mi	49.3	27%	27%

More about Shipham’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health A⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute A⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living DOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools AEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Shipham’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 Shipham’s residents

What is the population of Shipham?

The 2021 Census counted 1,104 people in Shipham’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Shipham?

The median age was 53.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Shipham?

93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Shipham?

44% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.

Is Shipham good for families?

24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shipham’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.