Photo: Neil Owen · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 51.5: West Hill is older than 91% of UK towns
With households without a car or van at 5.6%, West Hill is behind 98% of UK towns on that count. 1.4% of households live in a flat or apartment, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 339 residents in 144 households. Locally, 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
28% of West Hill is 65 or over, a higher share than 83% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 12% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 104 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns: 5.3%
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 36% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 15% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Full-time students are more common here than in 96% of UK towns. Against that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Larger households than 67% of UK towns: 2.3 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.
Households with dependent children: 28% here and 29% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.8%.
A lower share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns, at 2.8%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%; West Hill has 65%. On average, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
West Hill ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 100%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.3%). Fewer residents born outside the UK than in nearly four fifths of UK towns: 3.9%. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
West Hill: 96% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 86% of UK towns
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 West Hill · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion trails 85% of UK towns: 34%. By way of comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 26%, a lower share than 91% 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 8. West Hill has more married adults and civil partners than 88% of UK towns, at 55%. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care; in the village, 10%.
A degree-level qualification for 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, West Hill counts 33% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 15% have no qualification (18%). A levels are the highest qualification of 20%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
No nearby town is as old as West Hill
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Hill | 339 | — | 51.5 | 28% | 28% |
| Nailsea | 15,919 | 1 mi | 50.9 | 30% | 24% |
| Backwell | 4,347 | 2.3 mi | 46.7 | 24% | 34% |
| Portishead | 26,351 | 2.8 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 29% |
| Clevedon | 21,084 | 3.9 mi | 48.3 | 27% | 24% |
| Pill | 4,956 | 4.1 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Long Ashton | 5,184 | 4.4 mi | 42.6 | 19% | 37% |
| Yatton | 7,704 | 4.5 mi | 44.8 | 22% | 29% |
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 West Hill’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 West Hill’s residents
What is the population of West Hill?
The 2021 Census counted 339 people in West Hill’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Hill?
The median age was 51.5 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Hill?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Hill?
34% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is West Hill good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Hill’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.