Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Somerset, South West, this town has 3,643 residents.
A tough set of grades. Schools lag (D−). Homes sell for a median £246,000, about 4.9 years of what households in the Somerset West and Taunton council area earn. Getting around on foot or by bus is easy: just over a fifth of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. All told, that adds up to a D overall and a rank of #46 of 49 in Somerset. It comes out better than 6% of UK towns. Jobs & income is weaker too (D−) — the mean household earns £39,837 a year.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · claimants, DWP.
ONS publishes one rent for all of Somerset, so this town's Cost Grade uses house prices and council tax only.
The 3 things Watchet does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Watchet is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 25 buildings inside Watchet’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 1 scheduled monument.
23% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Watchet. Best known first.
MuseumWatchet Boat Museumin town
MuseumWatchet Museumin town
Castle · English HeritageDaw's Castle200 m outside town, to the west
Abbey or priory · English HeritageCleeve Abbey2.3 km outside town, to the southwest
ZooTropiquaria1.3 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBakelite Museum1.3 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Watchet.
Children under 15 make up 15%, below Somerset’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) alike, and people aged 15 to 24 are 8.6% of the population. The middle age in Watchet is 51.8. Among adults, 25% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Watchet | Somerset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.6% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 31% | 23% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 6.1% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Somerset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
There is one school here; it is shown below. 29% of pupils at the one primary school within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 173 pupils attend Watchet’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Knights Templar Community Church School & NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 173 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About a tenth of its commuters stay in Watchet for work. Jobs per working resident: 0.3. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 33%, below both Somerset’s towns (46%) and England’s towns (45%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the census, a quarter of people here had a disability, above Somerset’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (17%) alike. 7.5% of residents report bad or very bad health. The nearest A&E to Watchet is Musgrove Park Hospital, 14.7 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Watchet | Somerset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 82% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.5% | 5.1% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 25% | 18% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Violence and sexual offences were 49% of the crimes. Police recorded 303 crimes inside Watchet’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 61 reports of anti-social behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 11.4 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Somerset’s towns (8.5) and England’s towns (9.4). Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Watchet has more crime per resident than 77% of them.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
At the top of the list, 1 are Grade I and 1 Grade II*. Watchet’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of St Decuman, Grade I. One scheduled monument lies here.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Private rents average £1,016 a month across the Somerset council area. 17% rent privately, lower than both Somerset’s towns (19%) and England’s towns (21%). 186 standard sales inside Watchet’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £246,000.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £342,500 | 53 |
| Semi-detached | £242,500 | 53 |
| Terraced | £217,250 | 66 |
| Flat or maisonette | £155,475 | 14 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
25 listed buildings in Watchet, 1 of them Grade I.
Cross in Churchyard South of Church Porch: Photo: Rose and Trev Clough · CC BY-SA 2.0 · West Somerset Hotel: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Methodist Church: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Bank House: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watchet | 3,643 | — | D | C+ | C | C |
| Williton | 2,433 | 1.2 | — | C+ | D− | C+ |
| Minehead | 11,752 | 6.6 | D− | C+ | D | C |
| Nether Stowey | 1,483 | 7.6 | — | C | A | B |
| Wiveliscombe | 2,316 | 9.5 | — | B− | C+ | B |
| Bishops Lydeard | 2,050 | 10 | — | C | B− | B+ |
| Milverton | 1,112 | 11 | — | C− | A− | B |
| Cotford St Luke | 2,411 | 11 | — | C+ | C+ | B+ |
Williton, Nether Stowey, Wiveliscombe, Bishops Lydeard, Milverton and Cotford St Luke have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Primary results trail almost all towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Somerset council.
That is 2.8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of St Decuman. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Somerset, England
Watchet is a built-up area of 3,643 people, in the Somerset West and Taunton council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.