Photo: Kevin Hale · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Bittaford is over 52.8, older than 94% of UK towns
98% of residents describe themselves as White British (England’s towns: 73%). Households in flats are rarer here than in 97% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 482 residents in Bittaford, living in 216 households. Locally, just over a fifth of households have dependent children.
Bittaford ranks above 86% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 28%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 9.2% in Bittaford. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
Above 87% of UK towns: 6.2% of adults are full-time students
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%.
In Bittaford, 31% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year: nearly a tenth of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bittaford households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 73% 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.
One-person households make up 29%, against 30% across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.8%.
Households without a car or van make up 7.4% in Bittaford, less than in 94% of UK towns
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
By its share of households in terraced houses (28%), Bittaford is above 80% of UK towns. The village has fewer households in detached houses than 50% of UK towns, at 29%. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
Residents whose main language is English: 100%, a higher share than 99% 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
4.6% of residents were born outside the UK; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.5%) and in EU countries (1.2%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 83% of UK towns: 46%
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: 98% of Bittaford · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. Against that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Unpaid carers make up 16% in Bittaford, more than in 99% 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
Married adults and civil partners make up 52%, against 44% across England’s towns. For comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The census found that 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Bittaford.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Bittaford, 18%, while 38% hold one at degree level (34%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 16%.
Bittaford is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bittaford | 482 | — | 52.8 | 28% | 22% |
| Ivybridge | 12,485 | 2 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 30% |
| South Brent | 2,643 | 2.9 mi | 53.2 | 31% | 22% |
| Modbury | 1,687 | 3.3 mi | 50 | 26% | 23% |
| Loddiswell | 1,032 | 6.1 mi | 42.8 | 23% | 31% |
| Yealmpton | 2,007 | 6.5 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 27% |
| Buckfastleigh | 2,720 | 7.1 mi | 45.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Sherford | 1,311 | 8 mi | 31 | 4.4% | 48% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Bittaford’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 Bittaford’s residents
What is the population of Bittaford?
The 2021 Census counted 482 people in Bittaford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bittaford?
The median age was 52.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bittaford?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bittaford?
46% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Bittaford good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bittaford’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.