Photo: Jim Osley · CC BY-SA 2.049% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 91% of UK towns
Nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 17% in Newton Abbot. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 77% of UK towns. The town is home to 29,650 residents in 13,005 households, by the 2021 Census. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 3.3%.
What the Census says about Newton Abbot’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% 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 +16% change since 2011: Newton Abbot grew faster than 77% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Newton Abbot’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 25,700 people in 2011; 29,700 in 2024.
Between mid-2014 and mid-2015 the population rose by 520, its biggest one-year gain. Growth was strongest among the 30 to 44 (+29%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−1%).
Younger than 60% of UK towns: half of Newton Abbot is under 43.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Newton Abbot has 21%. 55–59 is the most common age band: 7.4% of residents. Residents aged 15 to 24 are more common here than in 53% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Newton Abbot, 43.2. 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.
4.4% of adults are full-time students, below 72% 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%.
By its share of residents who moved in within the year (10%), Newton Abbot is above just over three quarters of UK towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.3 people, below 60% 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.
Against a figure of 29% across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children in Newton Abbot comes in at 27%. For Newton Abbot, the census puts one-person households at 30%.
Newton Abbot sits above 65% of UK towns for households without a car or van (18%)
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, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house; in Newton Abbot, 26%. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
Residents born outside the UK make up 5.8% in Newton Abbot, less than in 56% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.9%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, Newton Abbot sits higher than 51% of UK towns: 98%. Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 13%.
In Newton Abbot, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 85% 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 Newton Abbot · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Newton Abbot comes in at 94%. Typically, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.3%).
34% of adults have never married, more 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
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 45% in Newton Abbot. Typically, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Census figures put unpaid carers at 9.6% here.
28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Newton Abbot counts 28% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 36 in Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace to 51 in Newton Abbot, Milber & Buckland
The town’s 6 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Newton Abbot, Milber & Buckland is the oldest area, with 27% aged 65 or over; Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace the youngest (median age 36). Families with children are most common in Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace (37% of households).
Of 227 UK towns its size (21,000 to 40,000 people), the 87th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 31.1 in Egham to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Newton Abbot in age: Barnstaple (43.1), Harpenden (43.2), Jarrow (43.5) and Fulwood (43.5).
Median age: 5 of the 7 towns around Newton Abbot are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newton Abbot | 29,650 | — | 43.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Abbotskerswell | 1,182 | 1.6 mi | 57.8 | 38% | 20% |
| Kingsteignton | 11,945 | 1.7 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 27% |
| Kingskerswell | 3,761 | 2.4 mi | 52.7 | 30% | 22% |
| Denbury | 1,482 | 2.7 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 27% |
| Ipplepen | 2,150 | 3.2 mi | 54.4 | 34% | 21% |
| Heathfield | 1,496 | 3.3 mi | 37.5 | 11% | 30% |
| Bishopsteignton | 2,271 | 3.3 mi | 62 | 45% | 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 Newton Abbot’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. Newton Abbot’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 28,806 people in 2021, against 29,650 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 Newton Abbot’s residents
What is the population of Newton Abbot?
The 2021 Census counted 29,650 people in Newton Abbot’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 29,700 people in mid-2024, 16% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Newton Abbot?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Newton Abbot?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Newton Abbot?
49% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Newton Abbot good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Ogwell, Mile End & Teigngrace (37% of households). Schools are on Newton Abbot’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.