Somerset
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Somerset supports 245,145 workplace jobs with median earnings 10% below the England average. The claimant rate (2.6%) is lower than the England average of 4.1%. Productivity (GVA per job) is ranked 242nd of 391 local authorities.
Source: ONS, Nomis, HM Land Registry, 2024-2025·Last updated March 2026
Employment & Labour Market
Monthly claimant count rate over the past 3 years.
Source: Claimant Count via Nomis, BRES, 2020-2026·Last updated March 2026
Industry Structure
Location quotients and shift-share analysis for Somerset's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Mining & quarrying (LQ 2.92) and Agriculture, forestry & fishing (LQ 2.86). Administrative & support services shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Transport & storage underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Somerset, derived from sector employment and national productivity ratios.
Estimates based on national GVA-per-job ratios applied to local sector employment (BRES). Indicative only. See Methodology for details.
Earnings & Income
Gross annual earnings distribution, 2025.
Median annual earnings of £29,908 are below the England median of £33,080. The 90/10 earnings ratio is 5.9x (England: 6.2x), indicating relatively high wage inequality.
Source: ASHE via Nomis, 2025·Last updated March 2026
Skills & Qualifications
Census 2021 highest qualification and occupation data.
Source: Census 2021, ONS
Demographics
Census 2021 population by age band.
The population is 571,549 with 59.4% of working age. The dependency ratio is 68.4% (above average, indicating a relatively older or younger population).
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Somerset residents.
26.2% of residents work from home. The most common commute method is driving a car or van (54.1%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Business data not available for this area.
Business count data is not available for this area.
UK Business Counts data covers VAT and/or PAYE registered enterprises. Some areas may have suppressed data due to disclosure control.
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for Somerset vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £249,083 is below the England median of £290,000. The price-to-earnings ratio is 8.3x. Prices have risen 1.8% over the past year.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Deprivation data not available for this area.
IMD data is only available for English local authorities.
The English Indices of Deprivation 2019 cover 317 English local authorities. Scottish and Welsh areas use separate indices (SIMD and WIMD) with different methodologies.
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Somerset using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026