South West

Somerset: house prices, jobs and local statistics

Somerset is a unitary authority in the South West, home to 571,548 people at the 2021 census. The average house price was £282,062 in July 2026, up 3.1% on a year earlier and up 14.9% on five years before. On the ONS figure for July 2026 it had the 171st highest average price of 360 council areas. 2.6% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming unemployment-related benefits in August 2026, against 3.9% across the UK. Median full-time pay for people living here was £36,279 a year in 2025 (UK: £39,039). The biggest employing sector is retail, wholesale & motor trade, with 14.3% of the 245,250 employee jobs counted in 2024.

Somerset house prices

Average price, July 2026

£282,062

South West: £302,298

Change over 1 year

+3.1%

South West: −0.2%

Change over 5 years

+14.9%

Since July 2021

Detached: £459,732
Semi-detached: £289,398
Terraced: £234,361
Flat or maisonette: £135,593
First-time buyers: £232,238

UK House Price Index, July 2026: HM Land Registry, Registers of Scotland, Land and Property Services NI and the ONS. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. About the index.

Ten years of prices and sales in the house price explorer

Jobs, pay and unemployment in Somerset

Claimant rate, August 2026

2.6%

8,725 people aged 16 to 64. UK: 3.9%

Employment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026

78.3%

UK: 75.4% · Annual Population Survey

Unemployment rate, Apr 2025-Mar 2026

2.8%

UK: 4.5%

Economically inactive

19.5%

UK: 21.0%

Median full-time pay, 2025

£36,279 a year

UK: £39,039

Median weekly pay, 2025

£711

UK: £767

The claimant count is people claiming unemployment-related benefits as a share of residents aged 16 to 64; the unemployment rate is the survey measure of people out of work and looking. Pay is for full-time employees who live in the area.

Claimant count, Annual Population Survey and Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (resident analysis), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Two years of claimant counts and ten of pay in the jobs explorer

What Somerset does for a living

Employee jobs, 2024

245,250

228,400 in 2019

Businesses, 2026

24,665

Largest sectors by share of employee jobs, 2024
Sector	Share of jobs	Great Britain
Retail, wholesale & motor trade	14.3%	13.6%
Health & social care	14.3%	14.1%
Manufacturing	11.0%	7.2%
Hotels, pubs & restaurants	10.2%	7.8%
Education	9.0%	8.6%
Admin & support services	8.6%	8.5%

Business Register and Employment Survey 2024 (Great Britain only). UK Business Counts 2026. Both via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Every sector and business size in the industries explorer

How Somerset has changed

Residents
465,677 in 1991 → 588,328 in 2024 (+26.3%)
England over the same years: +22.4%
Average house price
£166,641 in 2005 → £282,062 in 2026 (+69.3%)
England over the same years: +85.9%
Median weekly pay
£361 in 2008 → £584 in 2025 (+62.0%)
England over the same years: +63.7%
Employment rate
76.7% in 2004 → 78.9% in 2023 (+2.9%)
England over the same years: +4.4%
Claimant count
1.5% in 2001 → 2.5% in 2025 (+66.7%)
England over the same years: +60.0%
Disposable income per head
£10,802 in 1997 → £25,473 in 2024 (+135.8%)
England over the same years: +143.8%

ONS Explore local statistics, each series from its official producer; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Money figures are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation.

Every series, charted, in the trends explorer

Who lives in Somerset

Residents, 2021

571,548

Aged 65 and over

24.9%

England and Wales: 18.4%

Aged under 15

15.7%

England and Wales: 17.3%

Homes owned

67.4%

England and Wales: 61.5%

Homes rented privately

17.7%

England and Wales: 20.3%

Homes socially rented

13.7%

England and Wales: 17.1%

Degree or higher (16+)

30.5%

England and Wales: 33.8%

No qualifications (16+)

17.1%

England and Wales: 18.2%

Good or very good health

81.2%

England and Wales: 82.0%

Born in the UK

91.5%

England and Wales: 83.2%

Census 2021 topic summaries (TS001, TS006, TS007A, TS054, TS067, TS037, TS004), via Nomis. Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0.

Any neighbourhood's census profile in the census explorer

How Somerset ranks among UK councils

35 official indicators are published for Somerset; 28 of them have a better and a worse direction and are ranked here. A rank of 1st is the best (lowest unemployment, highest pay, and so on).

Where it ranks best

Home gas use · Environment8,172 kWh (2024/25) · 25th lowest of 347
Healthy life expectancy, men · Health & wellbeing62.8 years (2022 to 2024) · 46th highest of 195
Healthy life expectancy, women · Health & wellbeing63.0 years (2022 to 2024) · 47th highest of 195
Preventable heart deaths · Health & wellbeing23.2 per 100,000 (2022 to 2024) · 79th lowest of 292

Where it ranks worst

Gigabit broadband · Connectivity & access75.7% (January 2026) · 313th highest of 361
Adult obesity · Health & wellbeing33.2% (2024/25) · 248th lowest of 296
4G coverage · Connectivity & access99.4% (January 2026) · 297th highest of 361
Median weekly pay · Economy & work£584 (April 2025) · 290th highest of 359

ONS Explore local statistics, latest figure for each indicator, ranked among council areas with a published figure; Office for National Statistics content licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0, each indicator’s producer named on its linked ONS page.

All 35 indicators in the area scorecard

Health in Somerset

Life expectancy (male) (2025)80.6 years · England 80.0 · 45th highest of 151
Life expectancy (female) (2025)84.4 years · England 83.8 · 48th highest of 151
Healthy life expectancy (male) (2022 - 24)62.8 years · England 60.9 · 41st highest of 151
Healthy life expectancy (female) (2022 - 24)63.0 years · England 61.3 · 41st highest of 151
Under-75 mortality, all causes (2025)287.4 per 100k · England 321.0 · 45th lowest of 151
Adult smoking prevalence (2024)11.3% · England 10.4 · 90th lowest of 148
Adults overweight or obese (2024/25)68.4% · England 64.6 · 110th lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-02. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

The full health profile in the health explorer

Schools and children in Somerset

School readiness (good development at Reception) (2024/25)70.4% · England 68.3 · 41st highest of 153
GCSE Attainment 8 score (2024/25)43.7 score · England 46.0 · 119th highest of 153
16–17 year-olds NEET or activity not known (2025/26)20.5% · England 5.8 · 148th lowest of 150
Children in absolute low-income families (2024/25)17.3% · England 19.8 · 67th lowest of 153

OHID Fingertips (fingertips.phe.org.uk), Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, carrying DfE / ONS education measures. Upper-tier local authorities, England. © Crown copyright. Read 2026-09-04. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. England only: published for upper-tier local authorities.

Nearby schools and more in the education explorer

About these figures

Somerset (E06000066) is a unitary authority in the South West, one of 361 council areas this site covers. Every figure on this page is read from the official source named beneath it and carries its own date; the page is rebuilt at most once a day. Survey figures carry sampling error, so small differences between neighbouring councils are often noise. For a single street or neighbourhood rather than the whole council area, search a postcode on the dashboard.

Sources

HM Land Registry UK House Price Index (landregistry.data.gov.uk). Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right, OGL v3.0.
Office for National Statistics via Nomis (nomisweb.co.uk): claimant count, Annual Population Survey, ASHE, BRES, UK Business Counts and Census 2021. Source: Office for National Statistics, OGL v3.0.
ONS Explore local statistics (ons.gov.uk/explore-local-statistics), OGL v3.0.
Council area names and codes: mySociety, UK local authority names and codes (CC BY 4.0), from the ONS Register of Geographic Codes.

Somerset: house prices, jobs and local statistics