South Somerset
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
South Somerset supports 66,455 workplace jobs. Productivity (GVA per job) is ranked 231st 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 South Somerset's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Manufacturing (LQ 2.58) and Accommodation & food service (LQ 1.37). Accommodation & food service shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Human health & social work underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for South 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.Note: ASHE earnings data may be suppressed for areas with fewer than 30 survey respondents.
Earnings data is not available for this area (likely suppressed due to small sample size).
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 172,673 with 58.9% of working age. The dependency ratio is 69.9% (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 South Somerset residents.
25.1% of residents work from home. The most common commute method is driving a car or van (56.5%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in South Somerset from the UK Business Counts dataset.
6,955 active enterprises operate in this area. The business base has grown by 0.4% over three years. 78.8% of enterprises have fewer than 5 employees.
Source: UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2024·Last updated March 2026
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for South Somerset vs England, 2015-2025.
House price data is not available for this area.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. South Somerset is ranked 163 out of 317 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 163rd of 317 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Living Environment (ranked 103rd), while Crime ranks comparatively better (202nd).
Source: MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in South Somerset using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026