Somerset: Facts & Figures

Somerset: Facts and Figures tells the story of Somerset by means of some key facts and figures about our county. These are drawn from a variety of national, regional and local data sources and together provide a taster of the more comprehensive range of intelligence can be found elsewhere on the Somerset Intelligence website.

This digest of statistics, current at Feb 2025, is grouped in themes as follows:-

1. People and Neighbourhoods
2. Crime and Community Safety
3. Health and Wellbeing
4. Environment and Transport
5. Economy and Jobs
6. Education, Skills and Learning
7. Housing

© Crown copyright and database rights 2024 OS AC0000861332, Additional Information: © Somerset Council

People and Neighbourhoods

• An estimated 581,145 people live in Somerset (Nov 2023) (NOMIS MYE)
• 48% of the population live in a Rural area (England: 18%) (Census 2011)
• There were 5,063  live births in Somerset in 2021 (NOMIS MYE)
• 8.5% of Somerset residents (48,794) were born outside the UK (Census 2021), there are 2.5% percentage change in somerset residents born outside the UK compared to censes 2011 (census_2021) 
• Apart from the UK, the most common country of birth was Poland, followed by Romania (Census 2021)
• 622 Traveller caravans were counted in Somerset in July 2024 (GOV)
• 41.5% of Somerset people claimed no religious affiliation (Census 2021)
• The county comprises:-

• 55 Electoral Divisions
• 272 separate parishes in the Somerset Council area, plus three groups of councils (namely Cary Moor, Neroche and North Vale)
• There are 18 (Local community networks) LCNs in Somerset

• Somerset covers 3,452 square kilometres (1,333 square miles)
• 444,093 people are eligible to vote in local government elections (Dec 2023) (ONS)
• 47,806 Somerset people live in one of the 20% most deprived areas in England, but 61,253 live in one of England’s 20% least deprived areas. (This compares to 40,000 and 74,000 in 2015) (IMD)

Crime and Community Safety

• Avon & Somerset Constabulary has 24 Police stations in Somerset(A&S Police)
• Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue (DSFRS) has 24 Fire stations (3 whole-time and on-call, 21 on-call only) in Somerset (D&S Fire)
• Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) attended 3,517 fire incidents in 2023/24 (Home Office)
• DSFR also attended 7,154 fire false alarms and 841 dwelling fires in 2023/24 (Home Office)
• The number of reported casualties on Somerset’s roads in 2023 was 1,207 (road-casualties) 

Health and Wellbeing

• Somerset has:-
• One Integrated Care board (ICB)
• 62 GP Surgeries who work together in 13 small groups called Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
• 2 Acute hospitals and 12 Community hospitals
• 100 pharmacies
• 262 dentists working in the NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board area in 2023/24

• Life expectancy in Somerset is 79.8 years for males and 84 for females (December 2021)(fingertips)
• 50% of deaths in Somerset are caused by cancer and circulatory diseases (2020) (fingertips)
• In 2021, 49,937 people in Somerset indicated that they provided unpaid care, of which 14,744 did so for at least 50 hours per week(Census 2021)
• 81% of Somerset people say their health is good or very good (Census 2021)
• 65.6% of adult Somerset residents are overweight or obese 2022/23 (fingertips)
• 24.1% of Somerset reception children and 35% of children in Year 6 are overweight or obese (2023/24)
• About 12.1% of the adult population of Somerset currently smokes (2022/23) (fingertips)
• There are 565 looked after children in Somerset (September 2023)
• 8144 adults received long term care in 2022/23.
• 83.9% of clients with a Learning Disability are able to live in their own home or with family members (2022/23) 

Environment and Transport

• Around 15% of Somerset is either at or just above sea-level.
• The highest point is Dunkery Beacon, at 520m above sea level
• Somerset contains:-
• 1 National Park (Exmoor)
• 4 Areas of Outstanding National Beauty: the Quantock Hills, Mendip Hills, Blackdown Hills, and part of Cranborne Chase
• 124 Sites of Special Scientific Interest
• In 2023/24, the total number of passengers using the 10 railway stations in Somerset reached approximately 3.35 million (Office of Rail and Road)
• 4.8 million bus passengers a year (2023/24) (GOV)
• There are 927 licensed taxis and private hire vehicles (April 2024) (GOV)
• Somerset has 4,232 miles (6,811 km) of roads (July 2023) (GOV)
• Somerset collects 271,604 tonnes of waste a year (2021/22) (GOV)
• 55% of Somerset County Council’s household waste is sent for reuse, recycling or composting (2021/22) (GOV)

Economy and Jobs

• Somerset’s economy is worth £14 billion (2022) (ONS)
• The county has 24,795 businesses (Sept 2024) (ONS)
• 78% of Somerset’s businesses have fewer than 5 employees(sept 2024) (ONS)
• 80.1% of people aged 16-64 are employed (2024)(NOMIS)
• Median gross annual pay for Somerset is £34,973 (NOMIS)
• 4,620 MoD personnel work in Somerset (April 2024)(GOV)
• In 2023/24 there were 3,750 apprenticeship starts in Somerset (GOV)

Education, Skills and Learning

• There are 266 state-funded schools (including 140 Academies), 4 FE colleges, 5 Free school and 34 Independent schools in Somerset (2023/24)
• 30.5% of Somerset residents aged 16+ have a Level 4 (degree or equivalent) or above qualification (Census 2021)
• 81% of schools in Somerset were judged by Ofsted to be good or outstanding in their most recent overall effectiveness judgement (August 2024) (GOV)

Housing

• There are about 250,120 households in Somerset in 2021 (census_2021)

• Somerset: Facts & Figures 2018