Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.041% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 95% of UK towns
With one-person households at 34%, Buckfastleigh is ahead of 84% of UK towns on that count. The 2021 Census counted 2,720 residents in 1,207 households. Locally, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 11%, more than in 86% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Buckfastleigh’s people
More with no religion than most
50% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 39% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A young town: 10% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Buckfastleigh’s residents are over 45.5, older than in 58% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. For Buckfastleigh, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 22%. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Buckfastleigh, 45.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Buckfastleigh, 5.2% of adults are full-time students, more than in 65% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Buckfastleigh has 28% and 29%. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.3%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Buckfastleigh households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 64% 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.
Households with dependent children make up 28%, against 29% across England’s towns. The census found that 3.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Buckfastleigh.
Fewer detached houses than 77% of UK towns: 19% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%; Buckfastleigh has 13%. What’s more, households without a car or van are more common here than in 56% of UK towns. The share of households in detached houses across England’s towns is 21%.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 85% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The share of residents born outside the UK is 5.2%, against 18% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). Set beside that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
In Buckfastleigh, 50% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 93% 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: 94% of Buckfastleigh · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.1%). 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 93% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 82% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 89. Adults who have never married are more common here than in 76% of UK towns. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
33% of Buckfastleigh’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 18% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 200th youngest of 514 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 20.6 in Keele to 63.1 in West Chiltington. Nearest to Buckfastleigh in age: Pangbourne (45.5), Cliffe Woods (45.5), Gobowen (45.6) and Welham Green (45.6).
Older than Buckfastleigh: 6 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckfastleigh | 2,720 | — | 45.5 | 22% | 28% |
| Ashburton | 3,368 | 3 mi | 48.6 | 25% | 26% |
| South Brent | 2,643 | 4.3 mi | 53.2 | 31% | 22% |
| Totnes | 9,217 | 5.5 mi | 49.7 | 27% | 23% |
| Denbury | 1,482 | 5.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 27% |
| Ipplepen | 2,150 | 6.3 mi | 54.4 | 34% | 21% |
| Coldeast | 1,186 | 7.4 mi | 56.4 | 35% | 18% |
| Abbotskerswell | 1,182 | 7.6 mi | 57.8 | 38% | 20% |
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 Buckfastleigh’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 Buckfastleigh’s residents
What is the population of Buckfastleigh?
The 2021 Census counted 2,720 people in Buckfastleigh’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Buckfastleigh?
The median age was 45.5 at the 2021 Census, older than 58% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Buckfastleigh?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Buckfastleigh?
50% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.6% didn’t answer.
Is Buckfastleigh good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Buckfastleigh’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.