Photo: Terry Burnett · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 54.6: Combe Martin is older than 96% of UK towns
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Combe Martin had 2,707 residents in 1,235 households at the 2021 Census. For Combe Martin, the census puts households with dependent children at 21%. On adults who have never married, Combe Martin sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 25%.
What the Census says about Combe Martin’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Combe Martin’s residents are under 54.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Combe Martin at 2,800 in 2011 and 2,700 in 2024, down 4%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 95% 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.
Slower than most: −4% since 2011, behind 95% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Combe Martin’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,800 people in 2011; 2,700 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+30%) and weakest among the 30 to 44 (−25%).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33% in Combe Martin, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 86% of UK towns: 8.5%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Combe Martin, 54.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 76% of UK towns, at 4.2%
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%.
In Combe Martin, 27% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 9.9% in the town.
More shared households of unrelated adults than 71% of UK towns: 2.8%
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.
Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Combe Martin, 31%. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across England’s towns is 4.3%.
41% of households live in a detached house, more than in 77% 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
13% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%. On the census count, 15% of households live in a flat or apartment. Combe Martin has more households in terraced houses than 57% of UK towns, at 22%.
More residents whose main language is English than 98% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns, Combe Martin has 3.7%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in Africa (0.8%). For comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Combe Martin ranks above 88% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 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 Combe Martin · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and African (0.2%). 42% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 59% of UK towns. To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Set against 46% across England’s towns, half of residents describe themselves as Christian in Combe Martin.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 81% of UK towns, at 53%
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
97 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Combe Martin has more unpaid carers than just over three fifths of UK towns, at 9.8%. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 28% of its adults qualified to degree level, Combe Martin compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (18%).
32nd oldest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Combe Martin in age: Martlesham Heath (54.5), Prestbury (54.6), Collingham (54.7) and Cowbridge (54.8).
The towns around Combe Martin are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Combe Martin | 2,707 | — | 54.6 | 33% | 21% |
| Chambercombe | 1,502 | 3.2 mi | 51.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Ilfracombe | 9,199 | 4 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 8.8 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 8.8 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 9 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 9.4 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 21% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 9.8 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
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 Combe Martin’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. Combe Martin’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,808 people in 2021, against 2,707 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 Combe Martin’s residents
What is the population of Combe Martin?
The 2021 Census counted 2,707 people in Combe Martin’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 2,700 people in mid-2024, 4% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Combe Martin?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Combe Martin?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Combe Martin?
42% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Combe Martin good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Combe Martin’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.