Demographics
The population on the higher plateau is widely dispersed in small farms and hamlets, although most people now commute to employment in surrounding cities and towns instead of working in agriculture or forestry. The largest village on the plateau on the western Mendips is Priddy which had a population of 598 people at the time of the 2001 census along with the smaller hamlet of Charterhouse. The larger villages and towns are on the lower slopes of the western hills, often in river valleys. Axbridge with a population of 2,024, Cheddar (population 5,724), which are both within the Sedgemoor district and the Mendip town of Shepton Mallet (9,700) and the city of Wells (10,406) are along the southern border of the hills. The North Somerset parishes of Blagdon (1,172) and the parishes of Compton Martin (508), and East Harptree (608) and West Harptree (459) lie along the northern edge.
Further east are the towns of Midsomer Norton and Radstock and the village of Paulton (population 4,896) within the unitary authority of Bath and North East Somerset.
Read more about this topic: Mendip Hills