Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Who lives in Barnstaple: a median age of 43.1, 14,008 households
Barnstaple had 31,271 residents and 14,008 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 43.1 (younger than 61% of UK towns). The ONS estimates 31,800 people lived here in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What the Census says about Barnstaple’s people
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Barnstaple grew 5% in 13 years, more slowly than England’s 10%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Barnstaple’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 30,400 people in 2011; 31,800 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+25%) and the 16 to 29 least (−10%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2021 to mid-2022, 480 people.
Younger than 61% of UK towns: a median age of 43.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.1% of residents. 22% of Barnstaple is 65 or over, against 24% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Barnstaple, 43.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
27% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
27% of Barnstaple’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 11% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, more than the 11% across England’s towns.
14,008 households: one in 3 is one person living alone
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Devon’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Families with dependent children are 26% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 15% are someone 66 or over living alone (Devon’s towns 16%). Households average 2.2 people.
The most common home: a terraced house, for 28% of households
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
19% of households live in a flat, more than in 82% of UK towns; 27% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 4 has no car or van.
7.3% born outside the UK
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
7.3% of residents were born outside the UK, against 7.9% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%). 25% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language.
50% said they have no religion, more than say they are Christian
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 92% of Barnstaple · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 91% across Devon’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.7%).
On religion, 50% answered “no religion” and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.
43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
36% of Barnstaple’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 43% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 897 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
26% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
26% of Barnstaple’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
From a median age of 36 in Roundswell & Landkey to 52 in Barnstaple Sticklepath
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Barnstaple Sticklepath is the oldest area, with 30% aged 65 or over; Roundswell & Landkey the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Roundswell & Landkey (34% of households).
83rd oldest of 211 UK towns of 22,000 to 42,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Hatfield (30.3) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Barnstaple in age: Pontypool (43), Ewell (43.1), Bury St Edmunds (43.2) and Harpenden (43.2).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Barnstaple
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | — | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 1.8 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 21% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 2.5 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 3.4 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 3.9 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 5.2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 6.4 mi | 56.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Northam | 5,191 | 7.3 mi | 55.8 | 36% | 19% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Devon’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Devon (or England), summed the same way as Barnstaple’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Barnstaple’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 30,896 people in 2021, against 31,271 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Barnstaple’s residents
What is the population of Barnstaple?
The 2021 Census counted 31,271 people in Barnstaple’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 31,800 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Barnstaple?
The median age was 43.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 61% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Barnstaple?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Barnstaple?
50% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Barnstaple good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Roundswell & Landkey (34% of households). Schools are on Barnstaple’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.