Dowslands & Blackdown

Somerset · South West · population 8,472 · 4 LSOAs

Approximate neighbourhood (MSOA) boundary. © OpenStreetMap contributors; boundary © ONS / Crown copyright.

70Area Score / 100 ?
  • #2,034 of 6,856 in England
  • #221 of 710 in South West
  • #10 of 71 in Somerset
  • Less deprived (top 30%)
Compare this area →

People living here Census 2021

Residents8,293
Median age (est.)52
Density80per km²
No qualifications12%
Degree or above39%
No car or van8%

Age

0–14 13%15–24 10%25–44 18%45–64 31%65+ 28%

Tenure

Own outright: 48%Mortgage/shared: 32%Social rent: 6%Private rent: 14%
Own outright 48%Mortgage/shared 32%Social rent 6%Private rent 14%

Households

One person: 26%Couple, no children: 23%Couple with children: 25%Lone parent: 6%Other: 21%
One person 26%Couple, no children 23%Couple with children 25%Lone parent 6%Other 21%

Work (top occupations)

Professional 22% · Managers & directors 18% · Associate professional 12%

All occupation groups
Professional22%
Managers & directors18%
Associate professional12%
Skilled trades12%
Administrative10%
Caring & leisure9%
Elementary7%
Sales & customer service6%
Process & plant5%

Ethnic group

White: 96%Asian: 2%Black: 0%Mixed: 1%Other: 0%
White 96%Asian 2%Black 0%Mixed 1%Other 0%

Religion & identity

Christian 54% · No religion 37% · Buddhist 1%

Born outside the UK: 8%

Census 2021 (ONS), Crown copyright, OGL v3.0. Shares are of each question's own respondents (e.g. education is % of residents aged 16+). Figures date from March 2021 and change slowly between censuses.

In summary

Dowslands & Blackdown is in the less-deprived top third of England, ranked #2,034 of 6,856 neighbourhoods nationally, and #10 of 71 in Somerset. It is highly uneven across the seven themes — strong on Income (94) but weak on Housing & access (7). Typical homes here sold for about £347,500 over the past year, up 12% across five years (from 123 sales), 22% above the wider Somerset median of £285,000. Typical household take-home income is around £42,472 a year, around the middle of England. Recorded crime ran at 51 incidents per 1,000 residents over the past year, below the England rate of 83.

Themed scores ?

Each 0–100, higher = less deprived on that theme. National rank shown.

Income 94 · #430
Employment 86 · #937
Education 90 · #704
Health 84 · #1,081
Crime 83 · #1,170
Housing & access 7 · #6,346
Living environment 23 · #5,276

House prices ?

£347,500median (12m) · -8.6% yr · n=123
TypeMedian (12m)Sales1yr5yr
All homes£347,500123-8.6%+12.1%
Detached£462,50064-2.6%+26.3%
Semi-detached£314,50028-6.5%+15.4%
Terraced£227,50028+1.1%+29.3%
FlatToo few sales to report (n=3)
This area£347,500
Somerset£285,000
South West£310,000
England£300,000
Annual median price, all homes. Small samples can be volatile.

Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Household income

Net household income (a year)£42,472±£5,969 · #2,715 of 6,856
After housing costs (equivalised)£38,847
Price-to-income ?8.2×typical home ÷ net income — more stretched than the England figure of 7.5×

Model-based ONS estimates (FYE 2023) with 95% confidence intervals — a guide to the typical household, not a measurement. How income estimates work →

Affordability-adjusted Score ?

70Affordability-adjusted Score / 100
Best-value areas in England →

Recorded crime ?

51 crimes per 1,000 residents · 12 months · 433 offences
Somerset79
South West71
England83

Rank #2,210 of 6,427 areas with published data (1 = lowest recorded rate).

Category (12 months)Recorded
Violence & sexual offences253
Theft36
Burglary36
Vehicle crime14
Criminal damage & arson36
Public order & weapons46
Drugs1
Robbery2
Other9

Anti-social behaviour, recorded separately: 60 incidents.

Recorded incidents, not convictions. Crimes are counted where they happen while residents are counted where they live, so busy town-centre, retail and nightlife areas show high per-resident rates because visitors bring incidents with them. Street-level crime data © Crown copyright, data.police.uk, OGL v3.0. More on crime figures →

Official sources

Nearby areas

The closest neighbourhoods on the map, whichever authority they fall in.

Other areas in Somerset

Similar areas across England

Neighbourhoods with the closest Area Score elsewhere in the country, for comparison.