Photo: John H Darch · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 92% of UK towns: 21% of households have dependent children
9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 35% in Honiton. Higher than in just over two thirds of UK towns: 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. At the 2021 Census, 12,155 people lived locally, in 5,692 households.
What the Census says about Honiton’s people
Many older residents
29% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 89% of UK towns; 19% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. 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.
Honiton changed by +6% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 57% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Honiton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,500 people in 2011; 12,200 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+24%) and 16 to 29 least (−6%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2023: 250 more people.
Honiton is older than 84% of UK towns: a median age of 49.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: 7.3% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: 29% of the total.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Honiton, 49.8. 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.
Full-time students make up 3.7% in Honiton, less than in 91% 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: 9.4%, above 64% of UK towns. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.1 people per household, fewer than in 91% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.9%, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
17% of households have no car or van, more than in 60% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 21%; Honiton has 31%. On average, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns. For Honiton, the census puts households in flats at 13%. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 61% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 14% (England’s towns: 21%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. Residents born outside the UK account for 5.7%.
44% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 68% 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: 94% of Honiton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 48% in Honiton and 46% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Bangladeshi (0.4%).
In Honiton, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 62% 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
Married adults and civil partners: 47% here and 44% across England’s towns. Against that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 10%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 25% of its adults qualified to degree level, Honiton compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 20% hold no qualification (18%).
46th highest median age among 347 UK towns of 9,000 to 16,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Honiton in age: Driffield (49.7), Wombourne (49.8), Uppermill (50.1) and North Walsham (50.2).
Around Honiton, 5 of 7 towns have a higher 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Honiton | 12,155 | — | 49.8 | 29% | 21% |
| Feniton | 1,725 | 3.8 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 30% |
| Dunkeswell | 1,835 | 4.3 mi | 52.3 | 29% | 21% |
| Ottery St Mary | 6,043 | 4.7 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 29% |
| Colyton | 1,938 | 6.7 mi | 55.7 | 35% | 19% |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 6.9 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 27% |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 7.3 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | 7.4 mi | 60.4 | 43% | 16% |
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 Honiton’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. Honiton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 11,660 people in 2021, against 12,155 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 Honiton’s residents
What is the population of Honiton?
The 2021 Census counted 12,155 people in Honiton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,200 people in mid-2024, 6% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Honiton?
The median age was 49.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 84% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Honiton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Honiton?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Honiton good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Honiton’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.