Photo: DS Pugh · CC BY-SA 2.0More people live alone than in 87% of UK towns: 35% of households
Compared with 73% across England’s towns, 85% of residents describe themselves as White British here. Still, on households without a car or van, Taunton sits higher than 77% of UK towns: 21%. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 61,667, in 27,518 households. Here, 26% of households have dependent children.
+10% since 2011, a pace 62% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Taunton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 58,800 people in 2011; 64,900 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+27%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−7%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2024: 1,030 more people.
A median age of 41.9: Taunton is younger than 70% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Compared with 18% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over here. The census found that just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Taunton.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Taunton, 41.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 64% of UK towns: 5.1% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Taunton has 10%. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 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.
Where 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, Taunton has 3.3%.
Taunton ranks above 76% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 27%
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
Here 19% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Across the comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Households in flats: nearly a quarter of the total.
Taunton: 14% of residents were born outside the UK, above 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (7.2%), then in the Middle East and Asia (3.6%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. At 92%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 88% of UK towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 30% (England’s towns: 21%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 69% of UK towns: 44%
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: 85% of Taunton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (7.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Indian (1.4%). On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Taunton sits lower than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 47%. The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%.
Taunton: 36% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 73% 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
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
Married adults and civil partners: 43%, below nearly four fifths of UK towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 8.5% of residents give unpaid care.
32% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
32% of Taunton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).
From a median age of 38 in Taunton North Town to 48 in Taunton Galmington & Trull
The town’s 9 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Taunton Galmington & Trull is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Taunton North Town the youngest (median age 38). Families with children are most common in Taunton Holway & Lambrook (31% of households).
118 UK towns of 43,000 to 83,000 people: this is the 36th 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 Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Bexhill-on-Sea (54.1), the oldest. Nearest to Taunton in age: Grantham (41.6), Cannock (41.8), Newcastle-under-Lyme (42) and Cwmbrân (42.1).
Taunton sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taunton | 61,667 | — | 41.9 | 21% | 26% |
| Trull | 1,427 | 1.8 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 29% |
| Norton Fitzwarren | 3,770 | 2 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 31% |
| Monkton Heathfield | 4,584 | 2.3 mi | 34.2 | 12% | 40% |
| Ruishton | 1,476 | 2.3 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 22% |
| Creech St Michael | 2,327 | 2.7 mi | 46.6 | 27% | 30% |
| Cotford St Luke | 2,411 | 4.1 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 39% |
| Bishops Lydeard | 2,050 | 4.6 mi | 50.9 | 30% | 24% |
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 Taunton’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Taunton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 62,326 people in 2021, against 61,667 in the built-up area.
- 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 Taunton’s residents
What is the population of Taunton?
The 2021 Census counted 61,667 people in Taunton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 64,900 people in mid-2024, 10% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Taunton?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Taunton?
85% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 14% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Taunton?
44% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Taunton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Taunton Holway & Lambrook (31% of households). Schools are on Taunton’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.