Photo: Rosser1954 · Public domainOlder than 99% of UK towns: half of Instow is over 60.5
The typical household size is 1.9 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Instow was home to 400 people in 215 households. Locally, 20% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 40%, more than in 98% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 42% in Instow, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: just over one in ten residents, 2.4 times the share across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Instow, 6.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
58% women, 42% men
About 72 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.
Only 3.9% of adults are full-time students in Instow
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%.
15% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%.
Only 12% of households in Instow have dependent children
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.
2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. The usual figure: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
7.4% of households have no car or van, below 94% 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
Here just over a quarter of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across England’s towns is 24%. About one household in 14 lives without a car or van. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 35% here, more than in 65% of UK towns.
Instow: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 99% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.8%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Instow has fewer residents born outside the UK than 54% of UK towns, at 6%.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 81% of UK towns, at 55%
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 Instow · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95%, against 73% across England’s towns. 37% of residents said they have no religion, a lower share than in 74% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (3.3%), Arab (0.8%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Above 93% of UK towns: 11% of residents give unpaid care
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 carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 15. Across England’s towns, unpaid carers come to 8.7%. Few places have as many married adults and civil partners: 52% here, more than in 73% of UK towns.
42% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 42% of adults in Instow, 34% across England’s towns; 13% have no qualification, against 18%.
Instow is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instow | 400 | — | 60.5 | 42% | 12% |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 0.9 mi | 56.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Northam | 5,191 | 2 mi | 55.8 | 36% | 19% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 2 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | 2.8 mi | 58 | 38% | 15% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 2.9 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Bideford | 19,493 | 3.1 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 3.5 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
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 Instow’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 Instow’s residents
What is the population of Instow?
The 2021 Census counted 400 people in Instow’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Instow?
The median age was 60.5 at the 2021 Census. 6.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Instow?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Instow?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Instow good for families?
12% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Instow’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.