Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 19,493 in Devon, South West.
Bideford grades D− overall against UK towns: better than 3% of UK towns. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 21% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is jobs & income (D): mean household income £43,175; 3.5% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £227,250 in the last three years, 5.3 times what households in the Torridge council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Bideford does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Bideford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 253 buildings inside Bideford’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
24% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 3 old photos and postcards going back to 1850.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bideford.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Bideford has 253 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 10 Grade II*. 24% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Two of its 4 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| East-the-Water Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 439 | B− |
| Bideford CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,455 | C+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 18% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Bideford, that is above both Devon’s towns (73%) and England’s towns (70%). 18% of workers worked mainly from home at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The median sale price was £227K, below both Devon’s towns (£308K) and England’s towns (£308K).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £349,975 | 212 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 155 |
| Terraced | £200,000 | 425 |
| Flat or maisonette | £139,500 | 90 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Bideford sits above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22) on this measure. Burglary and damage come to 11.6 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 1,481 crimes inside Bideford’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 259 reports of anti-social behaviour.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
That puts Bideford below both Devon’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%). The nearest A&E to Bideford is North Devon District Hospital, 8.7 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Bideford | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.2% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
On this, Bideford is below both Devon’s towns (30%) and England’s towns (34%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.9% of the population. Half the people of Bideford are older than 44.4.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Bideford | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.6% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Bideford. Best known first.
MuseumBurton at Bidefordin town
MuseumNorth Devon Maritime Museum2.7 km outside town, to the north
CastleTapeley Park2.4 km outside town, to the northeastTheme parkTheme parkThe BIG Sheep500 m outside town, to the westPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustBurrough Farm1.2 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
253 listed buildings in Bideford, 1 of them Grade I.
The Royal Hotel: Photo: Philip Halling · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary: Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Old Ford: Photo: Brian Westlake · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Conservative Club: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0
29 notable people were born in Bideford.
Bedford Pim: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Edgar Dewdney: Topley Studio / Library and Archives Canada / PA-027070, Public domain · Graham James: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0 · John Percy Vyvian Dacre Balsdon: Lafayette Ltd, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bideford | 19,493 | — | D− | C− | C− | C |
| Northam | 5,191 | 1.6 | C | D− | A− | C+ |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 1.9 | D− | D | C | B− |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 2.6 | — | D− | B | C+ |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 4.9 | B− | D | A− | B− |
| Great Torrington | 5,958 | 5.4 | D | C− | B− | C |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 6 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 6.3 | — | D | B+ | B |
Appledore, Chivenor and Wrafton and Bickington have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 5.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is The Royal Hotel.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Bideford is £2,650 for 2026–27, more than in 92% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Devon, England
Bideford is a built-up area of 19,493 people, in the Torridge council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.