Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.028% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 79% of UK towns
45% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Wellington’s population at 13,815, in 6,151 households. Locally, a third of households are one person living alone. Lower than in 71% of UK towns: 25% of households have dependent children.
What the Census says about Wellington’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Wellington at 11,200 in 2011 and 14,600 in 2024, up 30%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 94% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Wellington grew +30% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wellington’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,200 people in 2011; 14,600 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2015 to mid-2016, the population rose by 440, the most of any year.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 66% of UK towns: 24%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The median age in Wellington is 45, higher than in 54% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Wellington, 9.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wellington, 45. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Full-time students: 4.3%, a lower share than 73% 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
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 31% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 28% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. One in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 74% 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.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 2.6%, Wellington is ahead of 60% of UK towns on that count.
Households in flats make up 16% in Wellington, more than in 73% of UK towns
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
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Wellington comes in at 16%. A quarter of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 62% of UK towns. Households in flats: 23% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 68% of UK towns, at 8.7%
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
The share of residents whose main language is English trails 72% of UK towns: 96%. Residents born outside the UK make up 18% across England’s towns.
Only 91% of residents describe themselves as White British in Wellington
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: 91% of Wellington · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 46% across England’s towns, 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian here. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 73%. The groups that follow White British are Other White (4.8%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.8%).
Wellington sits below 57% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (47%)
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 369. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 31% in Wellington.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 29% of Wellington’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have no qualification (18%).
360 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people: this is the 147th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Wellington in age: Herne (45), Haslemere (45), Dunscroft and Hatfield (45.1) and Beaconsfield (45.1).
5 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Wellington
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wellington | 13,815 | — | 45 | 24% | 25% |
| Rockwell Green | 2,854 | 1 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 27% |
| Milverton | 1,112 | 3.3 mi | 53.9 | 30% | 22% |
| Hemyock | 1,674 | 4.5 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 28% |
| Cotford St Luke | 2,411 | 4.5 mi | 36.9 | 12% | 39% |
| Trull | 1,427 | 4.8 mi | 49.6 | 29% | 29% |
| Norton Fitzwarren | 3,770 | 4.9 mi | 35.7 | 14% | 31% |
| Wiveliscombe | 2,316 | 5.7 mi | 51 | 29% | 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 Wellington’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. Wellington’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 13,815 people in 2021, against 13,815 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 Wellington’s residents
What is the population of Wellington?
The 2021 Census counted 13,815 people in Wellington’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 14,600 people in mid-2024, 30% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wellington?
The median age was 45 at the 2021 Census, older than 54% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wellington?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wellington?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Wellington good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wellington’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. 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.