Photo: Ning-ning · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 54.9: Otterton is older than 97% of UK towns
5.8% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. More unpaid carers than in 99% of UK towns: 14%. Otterton had 673 residents in 291 households at the 2021 Census. For Otterton, the census puts households in flats at 3.1%.
Otterton sits above 96% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (34%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Otterton has 9.5%. Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Otterton sits above 72% of UK towns for full-time students (5.4%)
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Otterton comes in at 8.1%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 24%, a lower share than 81% 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.
Here 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, where the figure across England’s towns is 4.3%. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%. Each household has 2.2 people on average. One-person households are rarer here than in 57% of UK towns.
Otterton ranks above 74% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 39%
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
Where 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Otterton has 25%. Against that, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 77% of UK towns: 4%
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 (3.1%) and in Africa (0.5%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 75% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
Residents with no religion: 34%, a lower share than 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 Otterton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 95% in Otterton and 73% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison. Across Otterton, 56% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 88% of UK towns: 26%
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
Across England’s towns, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; in Otterton, 52%. 23 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Set beside that, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Otterton, 14%, while 34% hold one at degree level (34%).
Otterton sits below 2 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otterton | 673 | — | 54.9 | 34% | 24% |
| Budleigh Salterton | 5,237 | 2.2 mi | 62 | 46% | 16% |
| Newton Poppleford | 1,918 | 2.6 mi | 51 | 29% | 23% |
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | 3.4 mi | 60.4 | 43% | 16% |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 4.6 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 26% |
| Exmouth | 35,502 | 4.9 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 22% |
| West Hill | 2,109 | 5.2 mi | 53.5 | 34% | 27% |
| Lympstone | 1,838 | 5.5 mi | 47.2 | 26% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Otterton’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 Otterton’s residents
What is the population of Otterton?
The 2021 Census counted 673 people in Otterton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Otterton?
The median age was 54.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Otterton?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Otterton?
34% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.9% didn’t answer.
Is Otterton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Otterton’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.