Demographics
On Census Day, 21 March 2021, the size of the usual resident population in Somerset was 571,547.
Sex
There were 12,653 more women in Somerset than men.
Source: Census 2021 TS008
Age
A quarter of the population were aged 65 and over.
Source: Census 2021 TS007
Legal partnership status
Of the 474,940 residents aged 16 or over, nearly half were married or in a civil partnership and nearly a third have never been married or in a civil partnership.
Source: Census 2021 TS002
Residence Type
Communal establishments include student hall of residences, boarding schools, armed forces bases, hospitals, care homes and prisons for example
Source: Census TS001
Household Composition
30% of all households consisted of a single person.
Source: Census 2021 TS003
Ethnicity, Identity, Language and Religion
Ethnicity
The vast majority of the resident Somerset population is white with only 3.6% from all other ethnic groups combined. 8.7% of the Somerset population were from an ethnic group other than White: British.
Source: Census 2021 TS021
Religion
Just over half the population said they were Christian with over 40% saying they had no religion. 6.5% did not answer.
Source: Census 2021 TS030
Country of birth
8.5% of the Somerset population were born outside of the UK
Source: Census 2021 TS012
Length of residence in the UK
Of the 8.5% of the Somerset population born outside of the UK, more than half have lived in the UK for more than 10 years.
Source: Census 2021 TS016
Main language
There were around 6,000 households in Somerset where English was not the main language for anyone in the household. They may know English as an additional language however.
Source: Census 2021 TS025
Work and Travel
Economic Activity
Just over 55% of the population aged 16 and over were in employment with another 41% economically inactive. Just over two thirds of those who were economically inactive we so because they are retired.
Source: Census 2021 TS066
Hours worked
Two thirds of residents aged 16 and over and in employment were in full time employment. Over 30,000 people were employed for 15hrs or less.
Source: Census 2021 TS059
Industry
Nearly a third of employed residents worked in 2 sectors, Wholesale & Retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles, and Human health and social work activities. Just under 30% were split evenly across Construction, Manufacturing and Education industries.
Source: Census 2021 TS060
Occupation
Source: Census 2021 TS063
Travel to work
Data on how people travelled to work will be significantly impacted by the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the time of the Census. Census 2021 took place during a period of rapid change. Extra guidance was given to help people on furlough answer the census questions about work. However, it is unclear how furloughed people followed the guidance. Take care when using this data for planning purposes.
The number of people working from home was significantly higher at the 2021 Census than 2011, though it may have dropped again since Census day.
Source: Census 2021 TS061
