Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,785 in Devon, South West.
North Tawton has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 18% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (C−): 2.8% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £277,500 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the West Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things North Tawton does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far North Tawton is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists them inside North Tawton’s built-up area, along with 2 scheduled monuments.
39% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in North Tawton.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, North Tawton is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (16%). North Tawton has 196 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents. North Tawton’s listed buildings include Church of St Peter, Grade I.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Tawton Community Primary School and NurseryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 160 | C+ |
In the comparison, North Tawton comes below both Devon’s towns (12%) and England’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up 23% of the town. The median resident of North Tawton is 46.5 years old.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| North Tawton | Devon | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 12% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 6.6% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Devon and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 25% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For North Tawton, that is below both Devon’s towns (51%) and England’s towns (45%). The car carried 81% of commuters at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
North Tawton sits above both Devon’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%) on this measure. Social housing holds 11% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £333,331 | 50 |
| Semi-detached | £250,000 | 28 |
| Terraced | £207,500 | 27 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
81% of North Tawton’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 80% across Devon’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | North Tawton | Devon | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 80% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5% | 5.9% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 21% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
That puts North Tawton below both Devon’s towns (7.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 71 crimes inside North Tawton’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 6 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime runs at 26.1 per 1,000 residents a year.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
3 notable people were born in North Tawton.
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Tawton | 1,785 | — | — | C+ | B− | C+ |
| Bow | 1,122 | 3.5 | — | B+ | A | A− |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 4.5 | — | D | A− | B |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 5.9 | C− | B− | C | C+ |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 6.6 | — | B | B+ | B |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 7.5 | — | C+ | A+ | B+ |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 8.1 | — | C | B | B |
| Chagford | 1,107 | 9 | — | D | A | B |
Bow, Winkleigh, Copplestone, Morchard Bishop, Chulmleigh and Chagford have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 8 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Peter. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in North Tawton is £2,794 for 2026–27, more than in 99% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 23% of residents were 65 or over and 29% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 16% were under 15.
Village in Devon, England
North Tawton is a built-up area of 1,785 people, in the West Devon council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.