Photo: Martin Bodman · CC BY-SA 2.0

64.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Heybrook Bay is over 64.1

Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Heybrook Bay comes in at 20%. In 2021, the Census found 467 residents in the village, living in 217 households. Locally, 87% of households live in a detached house. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are common here: 64%, more than in 98% of UK towns.

49%aged 65 or over 6.3%born abroad 217households

Ages

Residents aged 65 and over: 49%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

Heybrook BayEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Compared with 12% across England’s towns, 5.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24 here. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 156.7%

15 to 245.2%

25 to 449.2%

45 to 6430%

65 and over49%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

54% women, 46% men

Heybrook Bay

England

WomenMen

About 87 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.

Students & newcomers

A smaller share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 1.8%

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

Full-time students1.8%

Higher managerial and professional16%

Lower managerial and professional28%

Intermediate14%

Small employers and self-employed14%

Supervisory and technical4.8%

Semi-routine7.7%

Routine8.4%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.1%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Heybrook Bay

4.7%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 4.7%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.7× England’s share

44% of Heybrook Bay’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 16% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. In Heybrook Bay, 4.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.

Households

Fewer family households than 99% of UK towns: 9.2% in Heybrook Bay

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 17%Living alone, under 66 3.7%Families with dependent children 9.2%Couples and families, no young children 68%Shared houses and other 2.8%

Against Devon’s towns and England’s towns

Heybrook Bay

Devon’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person20%

2 people60%

3 people12%

4 people6.5%

5 or more1.9%

England’s towns.

The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Here, 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

Households in terraced houses: 2.3%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Heybrook Bay

Devon’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van6.8%

One35%

Two42%

Three or more16%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Households without a car or van make up 6.8%, against 24% across England’s towns. The census found that 0.9% of households live in a flat or apartment in Heybrook Bay.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 77% 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%

Heybrook Bay

6.3%

Devon’s towns

7.9%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.1%

Another main language, little or no English0.2%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. Lower than in just over half of UK towns: 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK.

Ethnicity & religion

97% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach

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

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White1.5%

Asian0.2%

Mixed1.1%

Black0%

Other0.2%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 97% of Heybrook Bay · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion28%

Christian64%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0%

Other religion0.9%

Didn’t answer6.9%

0%40%80%

In Heybrook Bay, 28% of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%.

Relationships & caring

A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 72%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership12%

Married or civil partnership72%

Separated0%

Divorced7.4%

Widowed8.3%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

53residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.6%

20 to 49 hours1.7%

50 hours or more4.1%

12% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Locally, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care.

Qualifications

Degree level: the highest qualification of 37% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications15%

Apprenticeship7.8%

A levels or similar17%

Degree level37%

Heybrook BayDevon’s townsEngland’s towns

Against 34% across England’s towns, 37% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

Every neighbour of Heybrook Bay has a younger population

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

WemburySherfordPlymouthMillbrookYealmptonTorpointSaltashHeybrook Bay

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Heybrook Bay	467	—	64.1	49%	9.2%
Wembury	1,828	1.7 mi	56.1	37%	20%
Sherford	1,311	4 mi	31	4.4%	48%
Plymouth	266,970	4.9 mi	39.6	19%	26%
Millbrook	2,299	4.9 mi	51.5	30%	22%
Yealmpton	2,007	5.1 mi	51.4	32%	27%
Torpoint	7,163	5.6 mi	48.6	25%	22%
Saltash	15,433	7.8 mi	48	26%	26%

More about Heybrook Bay’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Heybrook Bay’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 Heybrook Bay’s residents

What is the population of Heybrook Bay?

The 2021 Census counted 467 people in Heybrook Bay’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Heybrook Bay?

The median age was 64.1 at the 2021 Census. 5.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 49% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Heybrook Bay?

97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Heybrook Bay?

28% said they had no religion and 64% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.

Is Heybrook Bay good for families?

9.2% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Heybrook Bay’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.