Photo: Michael Garlick · CC BY-SA 2.0

54.9Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Beer is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 54.9

Beer had 1,280 residents and 588 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 54.9. 4.1% were born outside the UK.

34%aged 65 or over 4.1%born abroad 588households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Beer’s people

54.9median age, older than 97% of UK towns

Older than most towns

Half of Beer’s residents are under 54.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).

Ages

A median age of 54.9

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

BeerEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The largest age band is 70–74: 10% of residents, 2.2 times the share across England’s towns. 34% of Beer 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%.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1514%

15 to 245.8%

25 to 4418%

45 to 6427%

65 and over34%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

51% women, 49% men

Beer

England

WomenMen

About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

33% 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

Full-time students2.8%

Higher managerial and professional12%

Lower managerial and professional20%

Intermediate9.1%

Small employers and self-employed20%

Supervisory and technical6%

Semi-routine12%

Routine12%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.3%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Beer

9.3%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

117

residents, 9.2%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.4× England’s share

33% of Beer’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 9.2% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns.

Households

588 households: one in 3 is one person living alone

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 20%Living alone, under 66 10%Families with dependent children 19%Couples and families, no young children 48%Shared houses and other 3.2%

Against Devon’s towns and England’s towns

Beer

Devon’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person30%

2 people42%

3 people14%

4 people9.2%

5 or more4.4%

England’s towns.

Families with dependent children are 19% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 20% are someone 66 or over living alone (Devon’s towns 16%). Households average 2.2 people.

Homes & cars

The most common home: a semi-detached house, for 32% of households

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Beer

Devon’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van14%

One42%

Two32%

Three or more12%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

16% of households live in a flat, more than in 74% of UK towns; 26% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 7 has no car or van.

Where people were born

4.1% 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%

Beer

4.1%

Devon’s towns

7.9%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.6%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

4.1% 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 (2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). 99% of residents have English as their main language.

Ethnicity & religion

57% said they are Christian and 36% that they have no religion

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

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.9%

Asian0.5%

Mixed0.6%

Black0.2%

Other0.3%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 97% of Beer · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion36%

Christian57%

Muslim0.3%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.3%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer6.2%

0%35%70%

97% 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 (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and African (0.2%).

On religion, 36% answered “no religion” and 57% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

52% 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

Never married or in a civil partnership24%

Married or civil partnership52%

Separated2.5%

Divorced12%

Widowed9.7%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

128residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week4.8%

20 to 49 hours1.9%

50 hours or more3.6%

24% of Beer’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 52% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 45 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.

Qualifications

34% of adults have a degree-level qualification

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications17%

Apprenticeship7.2%

A levels or similar15%

Degree level34%

BeerDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

34% of Beer’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).

Neighbours

4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Beer

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

SeatonColytonSidmouthUplymeLyme RegisAxminsterHonitonBeer

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Beer	1,280	—	54.9	34%	19%
Seaton	7,429	1.4 mi	61	44%	14%
Colyton	1,938	3.1 mi	55.7	35%	19%
Sidmouth	13,258	6.3 mi	60.4	43%	16%
Uplyme	1,053	6.7 mi	54	29%	25%
Lyme Regis	3,741	7.3 mi	59.9	40%	16%
Axminster	6,094	7.6 mi	46.8	27%	24%
Honiton	12,155	8 mi	49.8	29%	21%

More about Beer’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health ALife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute B⁻Income, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living C⁺Owners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools AEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Beer’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
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 Beer’s residents

What is the population of Beer?

The 2021 Census counted 1,280 people in Beer’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Beer?

The median age was 54.9 at the 2021 Census. 5.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Beer?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Beer?

36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.

Is Beer good for families?

19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Beer’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). 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.