It is easy to lump Glastonbury, Street, Wells and Shepton Mallet together.

They are close enough for the same shopping trips, school runs, commutes and weekend plans.

But the latest figures show something locals already know: these four Somerset communities are not the same place.

The data, drawn from the Office for National Statistics, Census 2021 and HM Land Registry, compares Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet as towns, Street as a village, and Wells as a city.

And some of the differences are striking.

Four places, four different stories

Street is the largest of the four, with an estimated population of 12,903 in 2024.

That creates one of the quirks of the comparison: the village has more residents than the city.

Wells has city status, but a smaller population, with 11,283 residents.

Shepton Mallet follows on 11,157, while Glastonbury has 9,141.

It is a useful reminder that titles do not always match size.

But population is only the start of it.

Wells had the busiest housing market in the year ending September 2024, with 145 residential property sales.

Glastonbury recorded 129, Shepton Mallet had 122, and Street had 119.

That matters because a busy housing market changes how a place feels. It affects who can move in, who can stay, and how much pressure there is on local homes.

The age gap between nearby places

Age is where the four places really start to split.

Street has a much larger teenage population than the England average, with 11.4 per cent of residents aged 15 to 19, compared with six per cent nationally.

Wells has the oldest profile of the four.

The city has higher-than-average numbers of residents aged 65 and over, including 5.9 per cent aged 85 and over — more than double the England figure of 2.5 per cent.

Glastonbury also leans older, especially among residents aged 50 to 74.

Shepton Mallet has a more even spread across working-age groups and younger families, with higher proportions of children than Wells and Glastonbury.

These are not just dry numbers - a younger place needs schools, youth spaces, sports clubs and transport that works for families.

An older place needs health services, accessible housing, buses, community support and places where people can stay connected.

Who lives alone — and who lives in families

Household figures tell another story.

In both Glastonbury and Wells, 38.2 per cent of households are single-person households. That compares with 30.1 per cent across England.

Shepton Mallet has the strongest family profile, with 65.4 per cent of households classed as single-family homes.

Street is also more family-based than Glastonbury and Wells, although it still has a higher share of people living alone than the national average.

What the housing figures show

Housing in all four places is still dominated by houses and bungalows rather than flats.

Street has the highest proportion of households living in a whole house or bungalow, at 85.2 per cent.

Wells follows on 84.5 per cent, Shepton Mallet on 84 per cent, and Glastonbury on 81.6 per cent.

All four are above the England average of 77.4 per cent.

Health, disability and local pressure

Health figures show Glastonbury and Wells facing the highest levels of disability among the four places.

In Glastonbury, 21.7 per cent of residents are disabled under the Equality Act. That compares with 17.3 per cent across England.

Wells is also above the national figure, at 20.5 per cent.

Street is closer to the national average, at 17.7 per cent.

Shepton Mallet is below it, at 16.2 per cent.

Glastonbury also has the lowest proportion of residents reporting very good health, at 42.8 per cent.

Shepton Mallet has the highest figure of the four, at 47.5 per cent.

Glastonbury's distinctive identity

The religion figures underline Glastonbury's distinct identity.

Glastonbury has the highest proportion of residents reporting no religion, at 43.2 per cent.

It also has the highest proportion recorded under "other religion", at 5.1 per cent.

In Shepton Mallet, that figure is 0.7 per cent.

In Street it is 0.9 per cent.

In Wells it is 1.2 per cent.

Wells has the highest Christian population, at 52.6 per cent.

Shepton Mallet follows at 49.1 per cent, Street at 46.4 per cent, and Glastonbury at 40.4 per cent.

All four places remain much less ethnically diverse than England as a whole.

The proportion of residents recorded as white was 96.8 per cent in Shepton Mallet, 96.1 per cent in Glastonbury, 95.7 per cent in Wells and 95.2 per cent in Street. Across England, the figure is 81 per cent.

Deprivation is close, but not identical

Deprivation figures are fairly close, but Street and Glastonbury show slightly higher levels of households deprived in two dimensions.

Street had 15.1 per cent of households deprived in two dimensions.

Glastonbury followed on 14.6 per cent.

Shepton Mallet had 12.5 per cent.

Wells had 11.6 per cent.

Shepton Mallet had the highest proportion of households not deprived in any dimension, at 50.7 per cent.

Why it matters

Street is the largest and has the strongest youth profile.

Wells has the oldest population and the busiest housing market.

Shepton Mallet looks the most balanced in age and household terms.

Glastonbury remains the most distinctive culturally, with 43.2 per cent of residents reporting no religion, 5.1 per cent recorded under "other religion", and 21.7 per cent disabled under the Equality Act.

None of that will surprise people who know these places well.

But the figures put hard numbers behind the feeling.

Glastonbury and Shepton Mallet are towns. Street is a village. Wells is a city.

They sit close together in Somerset.

They are not living the same local story.

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