Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Exeter is under 35.1, younger than 96% of UK towns
With shared households of unrelated adults at 9%, Exeter is ahead of 98% of UK towns on that count. Its 50,233 households held 126,181 residents at the 2021 Census. Across Exeter, 31% of households live in a terraced house. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 40%, fewer than in 93% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Exeter’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 22,149 full-time students aged 16 and over, 21% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 22% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Exeter’s residents are under 35.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 22% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A city people move to
18% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns, and 4.5% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Devon
15% 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 (6.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5%). Where people were born ↓
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.
A +18% change since 2011: faster than 82% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Exeter’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 114,200 people in 2011; 134,700 in 2024.
In one year, mid-2021 to mid-2022, the population rose by 4,870, the most of any year. Change by age ran from +29% for the 16 to 29 to +7% for the 0 to 15.
A larger share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 22%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
16% of residents are 65 or over (England’s towns: 18%). As a yardstick, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Exeter, 35.1. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Full-time students make up 21% in Exeter, more than in 99% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 18%, above 98% of UK towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children make up 24% in Exeter, less than in 77% 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.
One-person households make up 32%, against 30% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people.
A larger share of households in flats than 92% of UK towns: 26%
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
Where 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, Exeter has 15%. Set beside that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. The city has more households without a car or van than 88% of UK towns, at 26%.
More residents born outside the UK than 87% of UK towns: 15%
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
Residents whose main language is English: 92% here and 90% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (6.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (5%).
Residents with no religion make up 49% in Exeter, more than in 91% 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: 82% of Exeter · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
2.2% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as White British: 82% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%.
Adults who have never married make up 49% in Exeter, more than in 98% 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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 2,592 people. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 35% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 97% of UK towns. Exeter sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 7.9%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 34%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Exeter’s adults: 34% with a degree-level qualification and 14% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. 26% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
From a median age of 23 in Pennsylvania & University to 47 in St Thomas West
The city’s 15 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
St Thomas West is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Pennsylvania & University the youngest (median age 23). Students cluster in St James's Park & Hoopern, where 59% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Countess Wear & Topsham (33% of households).
Among 55 UK towns of 88,000 to 170,000 people, the 6th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 29.8 in Salford to 48.4 in Southport. Nearest to Exeter in age: Preston (33.1), Lincoln (33.7), Bath (35.2) and Slough (35.3).
Exeter sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exeter | 126,181 | — | 35.1 | 16% | 24% |
| West Clyst | 2,683 | 2.7 mi | 32 | 8.4% | 45% |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 2.8 mi | 31.2 | 7.6% | 37% |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 2.9 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 32% |
| Exminster | 4,388 | 3.2 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 31% |
| Topsham | 4,193 | 3.2 mi | 55 | 37% | 17% |
| Broadclyst | 1,549 | 4.1 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 29% |
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | 4.8 mi | 30.5 | 4.7% | 44% |
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 Exeter’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. Exeter’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 127,204 people in 2021, against 126,181 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 Exeter’s residents
What is the population of Exeter?
The 2021 Census counted 126,181 people in Exeter’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 134,700 people in mid-2024, 18% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Exeter?
The median age was 35.1 at the 2021 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 22% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
Is Exeter a student city?
Yes: 21% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (22,149 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In St James's Park & Hoopern, 59% of adults were students.
How diverse is Exeter?
82% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 15% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Exeter?
49% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 2.2% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is Exeter good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Countess Wear & Topsham (33% of households). Schools are on Exeter’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.