Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,707 in Devon, South West.
Combe Martin grades C overall against UK towns: better than 29% of UK towns, and #26 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is jobs & income (D): mean household income £44,502; 3.6% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £315,000 in the last three years, 6.7 times what households in the North Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Combe Martin does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Combe Martin is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 44 buildings inside Combe Martin’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
46% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1890.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Combe Martin.
That puts Combe Martin above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). 13% of residents are children under 15. Combe Martin has a median age of 54.6.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Combe Martin | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 15% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 33% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Combe Martin Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 137 | C |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, Combe Martin is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (16%). For its size, Combe Martin has 163 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Combe Martin’s listed buildings include Church of St Peter Ad Vincula, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
In the comparison, Combe Martin comes above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). 5% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £420,000 | 44 |
| Semi-detached | £335,000 | 23 |
| Terraced | £245,000 | 29 |
| Flat or maisonette | £144,000 | 13 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Combe Martin, that is below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). 79% of commuters drove to work at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Combe Martin sits below both Devon’s towns (80%) and England’s towns (82%) on this measure. Combe Martin has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 4.1 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Combe Martin | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.1% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Police recorded 129 crimes inside Combe Martin’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 8 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 47% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Combe Martin. Best known first.
Theme parkWatermouth Castle800 m outside town, to the west
Theme parkCombe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park500 m outside town, to the southeast
Historic houseChambercombe Manor1.8 km outside town, to the west
MuseumIlfracombe Museum3.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumHele Cornmill1.6 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
44 listed buildings in Combe Martin, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Peter Ad Vincula: Photo: Arpingstone · Public domain · The Pack of Cards Including Courtyard Walls Incorporating Bee Boles on North-West Side: Photo: Jack1956 · CC0 · Church of St Peter: Photo: Robin Drayton · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Combe Martin War Memorial: Photo: Basher Eyre · CC BY-SA 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combe Martin | 2,707 | — | C | D | B− | B |
| Chambercombe | 1,502 | 3.2 | — | C− | B+ | C− |
| Ilfracombe | 9,199 | 4 | D | C+ | D | D |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 8.8 | D | C | D | C |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 8.8 | B | D | B+ | B |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 9 | — | C− | B+ | B− |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 9.4 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 9.8 | — | C− | A | B+ |
Chambercombe, Chivenor and Wrafton, Bickington and Landkey have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 6.7 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter Ad Vincula.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Band D council tax in Combe Martin is £2,629 for 2026–27, more than in 90% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Devon, England
Combe Martin is a built-up area of 2,707 people, in the North Devon council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.