Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, a higher share than 92% of UK towns
The share of adults who have never married is 29%, against 39% across England’s towns. At 28%, the share of households in terraced houses is higher than in 78% of UK towns. Chudleigh is home to 4,372 residents in 1,883 households, by the 2021 Census. 11% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Chudleigh’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Chudleigh at 4,400 in 2011 and 5,300 in 2024, up 20%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 85% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Chudleigh grew +20% from 2011 to 2024, faster than 85% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Chudleigh’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,400 people in 2011; 5,300 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+56%) and the 45 to 64 least (−1%). Between mid-2022 and mid-2023 the population rose by 190, its biggest one-year gain.
Only 9.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Chudleigh
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.7% of residents. On residents aged 65 and over, Chudleigh sits lower than 53% of UK towns: 21%. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Chudleigh, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Chudleigh sits below 71% of UK towns for full-time students (4.4%)
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in just over two in five adults here, routine and semi-routine work 20% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students. On the census count, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Bigger households than 54% of UK towns: 2.3 people each on average
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.
Nothing unusual on households with dependent children: 29%, close to the figure across England’s towns. One-person households are rarer here than in 57% of UK towns.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 63% of UK towns: 34%
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
The figure for households in flats is 8.6% in Chudleigh and 23% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 91% of UK towns: 99%
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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.5%) and in Africa (1.3%). Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 71% of UK towns: 4.5%. On average, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 6.7% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 84% of UK towns: 47%
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 Chudleigh · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.3%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 45%, fewer than in 76% of UK towns. To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 50%, a higher share than 65% 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
108 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. On unpaid carers, Chudleigh sits higher than 62% of UK towns: 9.8%. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
13% of Chudleigh’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 37% have one at degree level (34%).
248th lowest median age among 695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7), the oldest. Nearest to Chudleigh in age: Crowland (44.8), Ramsey (44.8), Earby (44.9) and Pilsley and Lower Pilsley (44.9).
Median age: 5 of the 7 towns around Chudleigh are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chudleigh | 4,372 | — | 44.8 | 21% | 29% |
| Chudleigh Knighton | 1,168 | 1.8 mi | 49.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Heathfield | 1,496 | 3.4 mi | 37.5 | 11% | 30% |
| Kingsteignton | 11,945 | 3.6 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 27% |
| Bovey Tracey | 6,241 | 3.6 mi | 54.4 | 35% | 21% |
| Coldeast | 1,186 | 4.3 mi | 56.4 | 35% | 18% |
| Bishopsteignton | 2,271 | 4.4 mi | 62 | 45% | 16% |
| Newton Abbot | 29,650 | 5.1 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 27% |
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 Chudleigh’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Chudleigh’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,746 people in 2021, against 4,372 in the built-up area.
- 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 Chudleigh’s residents
What is the population of Chudleigh?
The 2021 Census counted 4,372 people in Chudleigh’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,300 people in mid-2024, 20% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Chudleigh?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chudleigh?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chudleigh?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Chudleigh good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chudleigh’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.