Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 55.7: Colyton is older than 97% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Colyton, 2. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 1,938, in 933 households. In Colyton, nearly a fifth of households have dependent children. On adults who have never married, Colyton sits lower than 95% of UK towns: 24%.
What the Census says about Colyton’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Colyton’s residents are under 55.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Colyton: 35% of residents are 65 or over, above 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 12%; Colyton has 7.3%. By way of comparison, 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 89 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.
Full-time students make up 2.3% in Colyton, less than in 99% 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%.
By class, 32% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are scarce here: 8.5%, fewer than in 54% of UK towns. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, below 92% 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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 35% in Colyton. On average, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
In Colyton, 8.1% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 66% 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
On households in terraced houses, 24% here is much the same as across England’s towns. Higher than in 59% of UK towns: 33% of households live in a detached house. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Locally, 15% of households have no car or van.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Colyton, more than in 87% 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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Compared with other places, residents born outside the UK are scarce here: 4.9%, fewer than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Set beside that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 87% of UK towns, at 96%
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 Colyton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Chinese (0.4%). Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55% here, more than in 82% of UK towns. Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Colyton comes in at 36%.
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 71% 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 62. One in ten residents give unpaid care, more than in 59% of UK towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%.
32% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 32% of adults in Colyton (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Colyton
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Colyton’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 Colyton’s residents
What is the population of Colyton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,938 people in Colyton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Colyton?
The median age was 55.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Colyton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Colyton?
36% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 8.4% didn’t answer.
Is Colyton good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Colyton’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.