Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households in flats than 98% of UK towns: 38%
The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Higher than in four fifths of UK towns: 28% of households live in a terraced house. At the 2021 Census, 9,199 people lived in Ilfracombe, in 4,246 households. The census found that 95% of residents describe themselves as White British locally.
What the Census says about Ilfracombe’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Ilfracombe at 10,300 in 2011 and 10,000 in 2024, down 3%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 94% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
A town of flats
38% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 98% of UK towns. 29% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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 change of −3% since 2011 leaves Ilfracombe behind 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Ilfracombe’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,300 people in 2011; 10,000 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +21% for the 65 and over to −18% for the 0 to 15.
A median age of 47.4: Ilfracombe is older than 71% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 24%, above 65% of UK towns. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ilfracombe, 47.4. 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.
In Ilfracombe, 9.7% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 68% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 23% of Ilfracombe’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 32%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. On the census count, 4.8% of adults are full-time students.
Ilfracombe: 38% of households are one person living alone, above 97% 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.
Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Ilfracombe, 2.9%. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The census found that 23% of households have dependent children here.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 94% of UK towns, at 29%
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
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 18% of households live in a detached house in Ilfracombe. Typically, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
4.3% of residents were born outside the UK, below 73% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Ilfracombe has more residents whose main language is English than just over two thirds of UK towns, at 98%.
Residents with no religion: 49%, a higher share than 92% 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 Ilfracombe · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Arab (0.1%). Just over two in five residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 89% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
In Ilfracombe, 38% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 94% 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
Set against 39% across England’s towns, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Ilfracombe. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 290. At 9.3%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 53% of UK towns.
24% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Ilfracombe, 24%, and 20% have none, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 133rd oldest of 482 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 28.4 in Tidworth to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Ilfracombe in age: Whitwick (47.4), Groby (47.4), Heathfield (47.5) and Netley (47.5).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 5 are older than Ilfracombe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilfracombe | 9,199 | — | 47.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Chambercombe | 1,502 | 0.8 mi | 51.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Combe Martin | 2,707 | 4 mi | 54.6 | 33% | 21% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 7 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 7.7 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 9.2 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 21% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 9.3 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 9.3 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
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 Ilfracombe’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. Ilfracombe’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,856 people in 2021, against 9,199 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 Ilfracombe’s residents
What is the population of Ilfracombe?
The 2021 Census counted 9,199 people in Ilfracombe’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,000 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Ilfracombe?
The median age was 47.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 71% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ilfracombe?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ilfracombe?
49% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Ilfracombe good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ilfracombe’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.