What it's like to live in Somerton

Somerset is a county of homeowners. Across the council area, 67.4% of homes are owned outright or with a mortgage, 17.7% are privately rented, and 13.7% are social rented. That social rented share is below the England figure of 17.1%, split between housing associations at 8.7% and council homes at 5%, so social housing is a smaller part of the mix than in many towns.

Average weekly social rents in Somerset for 2025/26 are around £97 for a one bed, £112 for two beds and £124 for three beds. The largest social landlords in the area are Somerset Council with 9,667 homes, Abri Group with 9,509, LiveWest with 5,385, Aster Communities with 4,354 and Magna Housing with 2,587.

The age profile skews older: 24.8% of Somerset residents are 65 or over, against 18.4% across England, while 25 to 44 year olds are under-represented. For context on demand, Somerset's housing register held 12,473 households at 31 March 2025, and 150 council homes changed hands through mutual exchange in 2024-25.

Families are well served for a town this size. King Ina Church of England Academy (Juniors) is about a third of a mile away, with King Ina Academy (Infants) and King Ina Church of England Academy also within half a mile. Having primary and secondary provision clustered so close to home takes a lot of the stress out of the school run, especially if you have children at different stages.

If you want to look further afield, Long Sutton CofE Primary School is just over two miles out and Charlton Mackrell CofE Primary School around two and a half miles, both in nearby villages.

Somerton Community Library is a practical asset for families, a short walk from the centre and useful for homework, reading groups and school holidays. Village halls at Kingsdon, Charlton Mackrell and Pitney, plus Meadway Hall, are the places to look for children's clubs and activities. Across the Somerset council area, 16.8% of residents are under 16, a little below the England figure of 18.6%.

Somerton is a town you can cover on foot. The supermarket, pharmacy, library and shopping precinct all sit within about a quarter of a mile of the centre, and the schools are only a few minutes further. For most everyday errands you will not need to get in a car at all.

Beyond the town itself, the picture is more rural. There is no railway station within three miles of Somerton, so train journeys will mean travelling out of town first. If you rely on trains for work or family visits, check the nearest station and the connection times carefully before you commit to a swap.

We do not have reliable detail on local bus routes and frequencies here, so it is worth looking up current timetables yourself rather than assuming. A car makes reaching nearby villages such as Long Sutton, Kingsdon or Pitney far easier, but plenty of people manage small-town life here without one if work and school are local.

Somerton's social life revolves around its pubs. The Royal Oak, The Globe Inn and The White Heart are all within a couple of minutes of the centre, and The Lime Kiln Inn and The Halfway House are a short trip out of town. For many residents these double as the local meeting point as much as somewhere to eat and drink.

The Brunel Shopping Precinct and the town centre shops give you somewhere to browse close to home, and Somerton Community Library is the obvious free indoor option whatever the weather.

Look to the village halls for organised activity. Kingsdon Village Hall, Charlton Mackrell Reading Room, Pitney Village Hall and Meadway Hall are all within about three miles, and in rural Somerset these are where classes, markets, quiz nights and clubs tend to happen. Beyond that, this is countryside living, so walking and getting outdoors fills a lot of weekends. If you want cinemas, leisure centres or nightlife, expect to travel.

The employment figures here cover the wider Somerset council area rather than Somerton alone, so treat them as background. Across Somerset, 56.6% of adults are in work, which is close to the England average of 57.4%.

Unemployment looks lower than the national picture. The census recorded 2.3% of adults as unemployed compared with 3.5% across England, and in August 2026 2.6% of 16 to 64 year olds in Somerset were claiming unemployment-related benefits, against 4% nationally. That suggests a reasonably steady local labour market.

What the figures do not show is how far people travel for work. Somerton is a small town in a rural county, so job options within walking distance will be limited and many residents commute. If you have a job to move with, or you work from home, that makes a swap here easier. If you are job-hunting, be realistic about travel time and check what transport you would actually use before saying yes to an exchange.