Photo: Chris Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 91% of UK towns, at 30%
Across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 4.3%; Somerton has 1.7%. 5,106 residents in 2,323 households: that is Somerton at the 2021 Census. The share of households with dependent children stands at 24%. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 96%, more than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
What the Census says about Somerton’s people
Many older residents
30% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 91% of UK towns; 21% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Somerton is over 50, older than 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 7.9% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Census figures put residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.6% in Somerton.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Somerton, 50. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Somerton
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%.
Nothing unusual on residents who moved in within the year: 11%, close to the figure across England’s towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 83% 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.
Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%; Somerton has 33%.
A lower share of households in flats than 67% of UK towns, at 7.9%
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 without a car or van: 13% here and 24% across England’s towns. 33% of households live in a detached house. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Somerton sits above 77% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up just over a tenth of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 63% of UK towns. For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
Somerton ranks above 77% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 54%
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 Somerton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.6%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.2%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. The share of residents with no religion is 40%, against 37% across England’s towns.
Fewer adults who have never married than 71% of UK towns: 29%
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, Somerton has 9.8%. The wider picture: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Across Somerton, 49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
30% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 30% of its adults qualified to degree level, Somerton compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 17% hold no qualification (18%).
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 101st oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Somerton in age: Branston (50), Needham Market (50), Henfield (50) and Callington (50).
Somerton and its 7 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Somerton | 5,106 | — | 50 | 30% | 24% |
| Langport | 3,578 | 3.7 mi | 50.4 | 29% | 22% |
| Ilchester | 2,062 | 4.1 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 37% |
| Keinton Mandeville | 1,216 | 4.3 mi | 50.7 | 26% | 27% |
| Street | 12,707 | 4.7 mi | 41.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Walton | 1,149 | 4.9 mi | 47.3 | 25% | 30% |
| Martock | 4,079 | 5.7 mi | 50.8 | 29% | 20% |
| Curry Rivel | 2,009 | 6.1 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 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 Somerton’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 Somerton’s residents
What is the population of Somerton?
The 2021 Census counted 5,106 people in Somerton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Somerton?
The median age was 50 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Somerton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Somerton?
40% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Somerton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Somerton’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.