Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents with no religion than 93% of UK towns, at 50%
Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%; North Tawton has 11%. The village is home to 1,785 residents in 799 households, by the 2021 Census. For North Tawton, the census puts households in terraced houses at 30%. With a median age of 46.5, North Tawton is older than 65% of UK towns.
What the Census says about North Tawton’s people
More with no religion than most
50% 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).
North Tawton ranks below 66% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 9.3%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 8.2% of residents. North Tawton has more residents aged 65 and over than 60% of UK towns, at 23%. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
3.4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 96% 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%.
29% of North Tawton’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.9%. Full-time students: 7.9% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer households with dependent children than 70% of UK towns: 25%
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.
By its share of one-person households (28%), North Tawton is below 63% of UK towns. On average, 2.2 people share a household. At 2.4%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is higher than in 52% of UK towns. Households with dependent children: 29% across England’s towns, for comparison.
A smaller share of households without a car or van than 71% of UK towns: 12%
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 21% across England’s towns, 31% of households live in a detached house in North Tawton. Meanwhile, the village has fewer households in flats than 65% of UK towns, at 8.2%. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
Only 3.9% of North Tawton’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 largest groups were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in Africa (1.1%). North Tawton has more residents whose main language is English than 73% of UK towns, at 99%. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns.
In North Tawton, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 84% 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: 95% of North Tawton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.3%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 81% of UK towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 73% of UK towns: 52%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 53 residents. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 30% here, fewer than in 70% of UK towns. On average, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, North Tawton counts 27% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than North Tawton
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 Tawton | 1,785 | — | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Bow | 1,122 | 3.5 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 25% |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 4.5 mi | 53 | 33% | 21% |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 5.9 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 6.6 mi | 40 | 18% | 31% |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 7.5 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 24% |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 8.1 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Chagford | 1,107 | 9 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 18% |
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 Tawton’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 Tawton’s residents
What is the population of North Tawton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,785 people in North Tawton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in North Tawton?
The median age was 46.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is North Tawton?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in North Tawton?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is North Tawton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on North Tawton’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.