Myrtle Farmhouse · Photo: SharonEF · CC BY-SA 4.0More households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns: 72%
In Croyde, 3.8% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 616 people lived here, in 275 households. Here, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. The median age in the village is 49.5, higher than in 83% of UK towns.
Croyde sits below 71% of UK towns for residents aged 15 to 24 (9.1%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The census found that 23% of residents are 65 or over in Croyde.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Croyde sits above 87% of UK towns for full-time students (6.3%)
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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year is 12%, against 11% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More one-person households than 71% of UK towns: 32%
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.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. On the census count, 4.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households without a car or van: 8%, a lower share than 92% 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
Households in flats make up 7.9%, against 23% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 88% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in Africa (1%). The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 66% of UK towns: 4.9%.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 90% of UK towns: 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 Croyde · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%; Croyde has 51%. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. On the census count, 44% of residents said they have no religion.
53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 80% 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
Set against 39% across England’s towns, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Croyde. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, 7.6% of residents give unpaid care.
Degree-level qualifications reach 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Croyde, 8%, while 42% hold one at degree level (34%). For 15%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Median age: 5 of the 7 towns around Croyde 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Croyde | 616 | — | 49.5 | 23% | 23% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 3.2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 4.6 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 5.6 mi | 56.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 5.9 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 6.3 mi | 58 | 38% | 15% |
| Northam | 5,191 | 6.4 mi | 55.8 | 36% | 19% |
| Ilfracombe | 9,199 | 6.7 mi | 47.4 | 24% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Croyde’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 Croyde’s residents
What is the population of Croyde?
The 2021 Census counted 616 people in Croyde’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Croyde?
The median age was 49.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Croyde?
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 Croyde?
44% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Croyde good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Croyde’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.