Photo: Robin Stott · CC BY-SA 2.0Dawlish is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52
The share of households with dependent children trails 93% of UK towns: 20%. Still, at 95%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 77% of UK towns. Dawlish counted 11,800 residents and 5,533 households at the 2021 Census. Across Dawlish, 36% of households are one person living alone.
What the Census says about Dawlish’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Dawlish’s residents are under 52 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
+14% since 2011, a pace 74% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Dawlish’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,700 people in 2011; 12,200 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+28%); the 0 to 15 group moved least (+3%). In one year, mid-2013 to mid-2014, the population rose by 230, the most of any year.
30% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dawlish, 52. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
In Dawlish, 3.7% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 92% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 9.2%, Dawlish is ahead of 60% of UK towns on that count. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Dawlish households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 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.
3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
A larger share of households in flats than 91% of UK towns: 25%
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
23% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). Here, 27% of households live in a detached house. Households without a car or van are more common here than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Dawlish sits above 67% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (98%)
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
5.3% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns. On average, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
In Dawlish, 45% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 74% of UK towns
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: 95% of Dawlish · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.2%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 47%, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
In Dawlish, 11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 81% 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
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 44% across England’s towns. Fewer adults who have never married than in 64% of UK towns: 30%. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 29%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
29% of Dawlish’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).
432 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people: this is the 25th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Dawlish in age: Richmond (51.9), Swaffham (51.9), New Milton (52.1) and Ludlow (52.2).
Dawlish is younger than 3 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawlish | 11,800 | — | 52 | 30% | 20% |
| Dawlish Warren | 1,191 | 1.3 mi | 58 | 36% | 17% |
| Teignmouth | 15,314 | 2.6 mi | 51.8 | 30% | 21% |
| Starcross | 1,687 | 2.9 mi | 49.9 | 26% | 21% |
| Shaldon | 1,717 | 3.7 mi | 60.7 | 42% | 16% |
| Bishopsteignton | 2,271 | 4 mi | 62 | 45% | 16% |
| Exmouth | 35,502 | 4.3 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 22% |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 4.9 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 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 Dawlish’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. Dawlish’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,907 people in 2021, against 11,800 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 Dawlish’s residents
What is the population of Dawlish?
The 2021 Census counted 11,800 people in Dawlish’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,200 people in mid-2024, 14% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Dawlish?
The median age was 52 at the 2021 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dawlish?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dawlish?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Dawlish good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Dawlish’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.