Photo: Lee Vilenski · CC BY-SA 4.0A town of families: 44% of Cranbrook’s households have children
Cranbrook had 4,936 residents and 1,867 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 30.5 (younger than 99% of UK towns). 9.2% were born outside the UK.
What the Census says about Cranbrook’s people
A town of families
44% of Cranbrook’s 1,867 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 27% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Cranbrook’s residents are under 30.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 4.7% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
59% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 34% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
A town people move to
17% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Younger than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 30.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 30–34: 13% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. 4.7% of Cranbrook is 65 or over, against 24% across Devon’s towns and 18% 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+
■ Cranbrook, 30.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
39% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs
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%.
39% of Cranbrook’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 17% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, more than the 11% across England’s towns.
1,867 households: one in 5 is one person living alone
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.
Families with dependent children are 44% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 2.2% are someone 66 or over living alone (Devon’s towns 16%). Households average 2.6 people.
The most common home: a semi-detached house, for 34% of households
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
8.3% of households live in a flat, less than in 65% of UK towns; 24% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 16 has no car or van.
9.2% born outside the UK
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
9.2% of residents were born outside the UK, against 7.9% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (5.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). 18% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. 95% of residents have English as their main language.
59% said they have no religion, more than say they are Christian
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: 89% of Cranbrook · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
89% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 91% across Devon’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (6.3%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and African (0.7%).
On religion, 59% answered “no religion” and 34% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.
More adults have never married than are married
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
44% of Cranbrook’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 42% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 80 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
36% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
36% of Cranbrook’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 8.3% have none (18%).
6th youngest of 810 UK towns of 3,000 to 7,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Cranbrook in age: Lyneham (25.6), Bulford (28.4), Queen's Hills (30.8) and Red Lodge (30.9).
Every nearby town is older than Cranbrook
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | — | 30.5 | 4.7% | 44% |
| Broadclyst | 1,549 | 1.7 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 29% |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 2.1 mi | 31.2 | 7.6% | 37% |
| West Clyst | 2,683 | 2.3 mi | 32 | 8.4% | 45% |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 2.6 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 3.3 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 32% |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 4 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 27% |
| Exeter | 126,181 | 4.8 mi | 35.1 | 16% | 24% |
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 Cranbrook’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 Cranbrook’s residents
What is the population of Cranbrook?
The 2021 Census counted 4,936 people in Cranbrook’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cranbrook?
The median age was 30.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 4.7% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cranbrook?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 9.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cranbrook?
59% said they had no religion and 34% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Cranbrook good for families?
44% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cranbrook’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.