Photo: Brian Snelson from Hockley, Essex, England · CC BY 2.0Chagford is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 56.1
Compared with 30% across England’s towns, two in five households are one person living alone here. 1,107 residents in 564 households: that is Chagford at the 2021 Census. On the census count, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 83% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Chagford’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Chagford’s residents are under 56.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
A village people move to
14% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Many carers
127 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
35% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: 10% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Chagford sits lower than 93% of UK towns: 8%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
14% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, a share 96% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, against 5.6% in Chagford. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 18%, a lower share than 97% 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.
A household here has 1.9 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across the comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. In Chagford, 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in flats make up 14% in Chagford, more than in 67% 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
Households without a car or van make up 13%, against 24% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Across Chagford, 26% of households live in a detached house.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 72% of UK towns, at 9.6%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.5%) and in Africa (1.9%). 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 63% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 15% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
Residents with no religion: 44%, a higher share than 73% 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: 90% of Chagford · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
45% of residents describe themselves as Christian (England’s towns: 46%). The census found that 90% of residents describe themselves as White British in Chagford. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 95% of UK towns: 12%
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
For 30 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 52% of UK towns. As a reference point, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 43% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Chagford counts 43% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 12% have no qualification (18%).
Older than Chagford: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chagford | 1,107 | — | 56.1 | 35% | 18% |
| Moretonhampstead | 1,334 | 3.2 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 23% |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 8.3 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Bow | 1,122 | 8.7 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 25% |
| North Tawton | 1,785 | 9 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Bovey Tracey | 6,241 | 9 mi | 54.4 | 35% | 21% |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 10.3 mi | 40 | 18% | 31% |
| Coldeast | 1,186 | 10.6 mi | 56.4 | 35% | 18% |
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 Chagford’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 Chagford’s residents
What is the population of Chagford?
The 2021 Census counted 1,107 people in Chagford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Chagford?
The median age was 56.1 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chagford?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 9.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chagford?
44% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Chagford good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chagford’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.