Photo: Martin Bodman · CC BY-SA 2.0Who lives in Bow: a median age of 46.8, 472 households
Bow had 1,122 residents and 472 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 46.8. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
A median age of 46.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 9% of residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. 22% of Bow 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
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
26% 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%.
26% of Bow’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 29% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 8.8% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns.
472 households: one in 4 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 25% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 14% are someone 66 or over living alone (Devon’s towns 16%). Households average 2.4 people.
The most common home: a detached house, for 39% 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
0.9% of households live in a flat, less than in 99% of UK towns; 39% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 9 has no car or van.
3.3% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
3.3% 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 (1.8%) and in Africa (0.9%). 99% of residents have English as their main language.
48% said they are Christian and 43% 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
White British, not charted: 96% of Bow · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% 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 (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.4%).
On religion, 43% answered “no religion” and 48% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.
51% 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
31% of Bow’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 51% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 29 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
24% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
24% of Bow’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Bow
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bow | 1,122 | — | 46.8 | 22% | 25% |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 3.2 mi | 40 | 18% | 31% |
| North Tawton | 1,785 | 3.5 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 4.8 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 24% |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 6.9 mi | 53 | 33% | 21% |
| Crediton | 7,971 | 7 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 25% |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 8.3 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Chagford | 1,107 | 8.7 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 18% |
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 Bow’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 Bow’s residents
What is the population of Bow?
The 2021 Census counted 1,122 people in Bow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bow?
The median age was 46.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bow?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bow?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bow good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bow’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.