Photo: Andrew Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0Wincanton sits above 75% of UK towns for households in flats (17%)
Half of Wincanton’s residents are under 41.9, younger than in 70% of UK towns. In Wincanton, 13% of households have no car or van. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 6,744, in 2,999 households. At 2.2 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Wincanton’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Wincanton at 5,300 in 2011 and 6,500 in 2024, up 24%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 90% 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.
Wincanton’s population changed by +24% since 2011, more than in 90% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wincanton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,300 people in 2011; 6,500 in 2024.
The 30 to 44 age group changed most (+51%) and the 16 to 29 least (+7%). The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2011 to mid-2012: 220 people.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 64% of UK towns, at 9.3%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 30–34: 8.2% of residents. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In South Petherton, the oldest of Somerset’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wincanton, 41.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Wincanton, 3.8% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 90% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Wincanton, 26% and 31%. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A larger share of one-person households than 65% of UK towns: 32%
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.
For Wincanton, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.4%. The share of households with dependent children is 28%, against 29% across England’s towns.
Only 18% of households live in a terraced house in Wincanton
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, 30% of households live in a detached house. For households in terraced houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 95% in Wincanton, less than in 78% 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 outside the UK make up 8.8%, against 18% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 90% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (5.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%).
Wincanton: 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 61% 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: 92% of Wincanton · Somerset’s towns 89% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (5.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and African (0.3%). On average, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Wincanton has 92%.
A lower share of married adults and civil partners than 53% of UK towns, at 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
150 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 8.8%, fewer than in two thirds of UK towns. In Wincanton, nearly a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns.
26% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
26% of Wincanton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 115th youngest of 473 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.9 in Red Lodge to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Wincanton in age: Shifnal (41.9), Polesworth and Dordon (41.9), Oakdale (41.9) and Annfield Plain (42).
Every nearby town is older than Wincanton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wincanton | 6,744 | — | 41.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 4 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 4.2 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Castle Cary | 3,451 | 5.2 mi | 51.9 | 32% | 21% |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 5.7 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 5.9 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 24% |
| Milborne Port | 3,207 | 6.4 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Mere | 2,808 | 6.8 mi | 55.4 | 35% | 17% |
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 Wincanton’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. Wincanton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,572 people in 2021, against 6,744 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 Wincanton’s residents
What is the population of Wincanton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,744 people in Wincanton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,500 people in mid-2024, 24% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wincanton?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wincanton?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 89% across Somerset’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wincanton?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Wincanton good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Wincanton’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.