Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Bickington is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.3
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 51% of households live in a detached house in Bickington. The village had 2,105 residents in 948 households at the 2021 Census. Across Bickington, 3.4% of households live in a flat or apartment. Households with dependent children are rarer here than in 91% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Bickington’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Bickington’s residents are under 52.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% 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).
In Bickington, 30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 8.7% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. The census found that 8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bickington. Set beside that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
2.9% of adults are full-time students, below 99% of UK towns
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 31% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 27% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 74% of UK towns
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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Bickington. 30% of households are one person living alone, more than in 52% of UK towns.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 66% of UK towns, at 13%
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 26% of households live in a terraced house in Bickington. About one household in 8 lives without a car or van.
In Bickington, 4% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 78% of UK towns
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Residents born abroad were most often born in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%), then in EU countries (1.1%). Bickington has more residents whose main language is English than 79% of UK towns, at 99%. Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 81% of UK towns
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: 95% of Bickington · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
43% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.3%). Higher than in 52% of UK towns: 50% of residents describe themselves as Christian. For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%.
In Bickington, 24% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
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
Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 55% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 11% here, more than in 89% of UK towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 70 residents.
27% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 27% of its adults qualified to degree level, Bickington compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 19% hold no qualification (18%).
Bickington sits below 3 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bickington | 2,105 | — | 52.3 | 30% | 21% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 1.7 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 1.8 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 2.4 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 3.8 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 4.1 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 4.6 mi | 56.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Northam | 5,191 | 5.6 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 Bickington’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 Bickington’s residents
What is the population of Bickington?
The 2021 Census counted 2,105 people in Bickington’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bickington?
The median age was 52.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bickington?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bickington?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bickington good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bickington’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.