Photo: Mike Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 97% of UK towns, at 97%
By its share of unpaid carers (12%), Lifton is above 98% of UK towns. The village is home to 737 residents in 331 households, by the 2021 Census. Locally, 8.8% of households have no car or van. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 81% of UK towns.
Lifton is older than 81% of UK towns: a median age of 49.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 65–69, with nearly one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 54% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 57% of UK towns: 5%
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%.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Lifton, 9.2%. The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.5%, a lower share than 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.
The figure for one-person households is 31% in Lifton and 30% across England’s towns. For Lifton, the census puts households with dependent children at 25%. To put it in context, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
41% of households live in a detached house, more than in 78% 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 6.3% of households live in a flat or apartment in Lifton. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%. Here, 17% of households live in a terraced house.
Only 3% of Lifton’s residents were born outside the UK
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2%) and in Africa (0.4%). On residents whose main language is English, Lifton sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 100%. Residents born outside the UK: 18% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 71% of UK towns: 53%
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: 97% of Lifton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents with no religion: 42%, above 57% of UK towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
Lifton sits below 63% of UK towns for adults who have never married (31%)
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 44% across England’s towns, half of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Lifton. The usual figure: nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 27% of adults in Lifton, 34% across England’s towns; 21% have no qualification, against 18%.
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Lifton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lifton | 737 | — | 49.2 | 27% | 25% |
| Withnoe | 1,820 | 2.8 mi | 36.6 | 14% | 36% |
| Launceston | 8,431 | 3.4 mi | 43.9 | 22% | 26% |
| Kelly Bray | 1,137 | 8.7 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel | 3,506 | 8.8 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Tavistock | 12,676 | 9.2 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 22% |
| Callington | 4,665 | 9.8 mi | 50 | 26% | 21% |
| Pensilva | 1,656 | 11.2 mi | 52.5 | 29% | 20% |
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 Lifton’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 Lifton’s residents
What is the population of Lifton?
The 2021 Census counted 737 people in Lifton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Lifton?
The median age was 49.2 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lifton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lifton?
42% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Lifton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lifton’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.