Photo: ChurchCrawler · CC BY-SA 2.0

50.6Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Fewer households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns: 2.8%

Adults who have never married: 22% here and 39% across England’s towns. The share of households in detached houses stands at 73%. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 91% of UK towns. Theale had 373 residents and 143 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 50.6.

30%aged 65 or over 5.1%born abroad 143households

Ages

A median age of 50.6: Theale is older than 88% of UK towns

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

ThealeEngland’s towns

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

10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1514%

15 to 2410%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6427%

65 and over30%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

49% women, 51% men

Theale

England

WomenMen

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

Students & newcomers

Fewer full-time students than 97% of UK towns: 3.2%

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 students3.2%

Higher managerial and professional19%

Lower managerial and professional27%

Intermediate10%

Small employers and self-employed23%

Supervisory and technical3.2%

Semi-routine5.2%

Routine6.8%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3.2%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

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

Theale

8.9%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 8.6%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.8× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs account for 45% of Theale’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 12%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.

Households

Fewer people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 15% of households

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

Living alone, 66+ 8.4%Living alone, under 66 6.3%Families with dependent children 25%Couples and families, no young children 57%Shared houses and other 2.8%

Against Somerset’s towns and England’s towns

Theale

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person15%

2 people49%

3 people12%

4 people14%

5 or more9.7%

England’s towns.

Households average 2.6 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%. Locally, 25% of households have dependent children. At 2.8%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is higher than in 70% of UK towns.

Homes & cars

In Theale, 1.4% of households live in a terraced house, 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

Theale

Somerset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van2.8%

One30%

Two43%

Three or more25%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

The figure for households in flats is 0.7% in Theale and 23% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.

Where people were born

100% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 99% 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%

Theale

5.1%

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 language100%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.3%

Another main language, little or no English0%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Born outside the UK: 5.1% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. On average, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (2.4%) and in Africa (1.3%).

Ethnicity & religion

55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 79% of UK towns don’t reach

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

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White4.8%

Asian1.1%

Mixed1.6%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 92% of Theale · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion41%

Christian55%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.3%

Other religion0.3%

Didn’t answer3.8%

0%35%70%

Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (4.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Indian (0.8%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 92%, more than in 53% of UK towns. Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Theale has 41%.

Relationships & caring

Married adults and civil partners: 66%, a higher share than 99% 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 partnership66%

Separated0.3%

Divorced6.5%

Widowed5.8%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

30residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 8.4%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.2%

20 to 49 hours1.7%

50 hours or more2.5%

Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 9 people. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Lower than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 8.4% of residents give unpaid care.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications reach 43% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications15%

Apprenticeship2.9%

A levels or similar19%

Degree level43%

ThealeSomerset’s townsEngland’s towns

43% of Theale’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%).

Neighbours

A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Theale

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

WedmoreDraycottCheddarGlastonburyWellsAxbridgeWaltonTheale

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Theale	373	—	50.6	30%	25%
Wedmore	1,424	2 mi	56.6	38%	21%
Draycott	1,069	3 mi	51.5	28%	25%
Cheddar	5,841	4.5 mi	49.1	27%	25%
Glastonbury	8,304	5 mi	50.6	25%	20%
Wells	12,097	5.3 mi	50.7	30%	22%
Axbridge	1,998	5.5 mi	49.2	24%	25%
Walton	1,149	6.1 mi	47.3	25%	30%

More about Theale’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery 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 Theale’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 Theale’s residents

What is the population of Theale?

The 2021 Census counted 373 people in Theale’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Theale?

The median age was 50.6 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Theale?

92% 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 Theale?

41% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.8% didn’t answer.

Is Theale good for families?

25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Theale’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.