Photo: John Salmon · CC BY-SA 2.0Few flats: only 3.2% of households in North Molton live in one
Against a figure of 73% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in North Molton comes in at 96%. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 770, in 340 households. Households without a car or van account for 8.8%. More unpaid carers than in 93% of UK towns: 11%.
A median age of 47.9: North Molton is older than 74% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
60–64 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Here, a quarter of residents are 65 or over. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 53% of UK towns: 9.7%.
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.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 85% of UK towns, at 11%
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%.
4.9% of adults are full-time students (England’s towns: 7.9%). Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in North Molton, 26% and 25%.
North Molton sits above 82% of UK towns for shared households of unrelated adults (3.2%)
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.
One-person households make up 28%, against 30% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. The census found that just over a quarter of households have dependent children in North Molton.
Households in terraced houses make up 26% in North Molton, more than in 74% 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
With households in detached houses at 35%, North Molton is ahead of 66% of UK towns on that count. By way of comparison, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 96% 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
3.7% of residents were born outside the UK (England’s towns: 18%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.3%).
North Molton ranks above 56% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 51%
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: 96% of North Molton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%; North Molton has 42%. Measured more widely, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Only 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in North Molton
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
29 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 64% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 27% of adults in North Molton (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 17% (England’s towns: 18%).
Around North Molton, 2 of 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Molton | 770 | — | 47.9 | 25% | 26% |
| South Molton | 6,226 | 2.8 mi | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 8.5 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 10 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Witheridge | 1,306 | 10.6 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 23% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 10.9 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
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 North Molton’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 North Molton’s residents
What is the population of North Molton?
The 2021 Census counted 770 people in North Molton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in North Molton?
The median age was 47.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is North Molton?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in North Molton?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is North Molton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on North Molton’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.