Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 12,155 in Devon, South West.
Honiton grades C+ overall against UK towns: better than 42% of UK towns, and #19 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is jobs & income (C−): mean household income £44,161; 3.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The median home sold for £280,000 in the last three years, 5.2 times what households in the East Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Honiton does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Honiton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 107 buildings inside Honiton’s built-up area, 6 of them Grade II*.
11% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Honiton.
For Honiton, that is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.1% of the population. Half the people of Honiton are older than 49.8.
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.
| Honiton | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 20% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Littletown Primary AcademyLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 436 | C |
| Honiton Community CollegeLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 637 | C+ |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Honiton sits below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. The car carried 76% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Honiton has 107 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 6 Grade II*. 11% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That puts Honiton above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 616 crimes inside Honiton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 76 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 54% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
79% of Honiton’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 80% across Devon’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Honiton | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
67% of households own their home, above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,000 | 232 |
| Semi-detached | £276,250 | 160 |
| Terraced | £212,000 | 193 |
| Flat or maisonette | £161,000 | 101 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Honiton. Best known first.
MuseumAllhallows Museumin town
FortHembury3.7 km outside town, to the northwestAttractionAttractionHoniton Show1.2 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
107 listed buildings in Honiton.
Church of St Michael and All Angels and lych gate: Photo: Tony Atkin · CC BY-SA 2.0 · 39 and 41, New Street: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Town Mill: Photo: Simon Cobb · CC0 · Copper Castle Gates: Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0
15 notable people were born in Honiton.
Joanne Pavey: SNappa2006, CC BY 2.0 · Marcus Wyatt: Sandro Halank, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Charles William Bowerman: Bain, Public domain · George Blagdon Westcott: Sir Robert Smirke; William Bromley; John Landseer; R. Bowyer, Public domain · William Harris Murch: George Frederick Clarke, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honiton | 12,155 | — | C+ | B− | C+ | B− |
| Feniton | 1,725 | 3.8 | — | B | A+ | A |
| Dunkeswell | 1,835 | 4.3 | — | A− | A | A |
| Ottery St Mary | 6,043 | 4.7 | A− | C+ | B | A+ |
| Colyton | 1,938 | 6.7 | — | C | A− | A |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 6.9 | — | C− | A | A+ |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 7.3 | — | C | A | A |
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | 7.4 | B | C− | B | A |
Feniton, Dunkeswell, Colyton, West Hill and Whimple have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Band D council tax in Honiton is £2,709 for 2026–27, more than in 96% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Town in Devon, England
Honiton is a built-up area of 12,155 people, in the East Devon council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.