Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.0Shebbear is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.2
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; Shebbear has 7.7%. On the census count, 64% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Nearly a fifth of households are one person living alone, a lower share than in 98% of UK towns. Its 170 households held 396 residents at the 2021 Census.
6.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over; in Shebbear, 29%. Typically, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
48% women, 52% men
About 110 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 84% 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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 10%, above 77% of UK towns. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households with dependent children than 82% of UK towns: 24%
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.
The typical household size is 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. For Shebbear, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 2.9%.
A lower share of households in flats than 96% of UK towns, at 2.4%
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, 45% of households live in a detached house in Shebbear. Against that, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. In Shebbear, 11% of households live in a terraced house.
More residents whose main language is English than 99% of UK towns: 100%
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 figure for residents born outside the UK is 4.8% in Shebbear and 18% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%).
In Shebbear, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 96% 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: 97% of Shebbear · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Shebbear, 40%. More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in nearly two thirds of UK towns: 52%. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Caribbean (0.3%).
Shebbear ranks below 99% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 20%
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 21 residents. At 13%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 99% of UK towns. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
26% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Shebbear compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 20% hold no qualification (18%).
The towns around Shebbear are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shebbear | 396 | — | 53.2 | 29% | 24% |
| Holsworthy | 3,472 | 6.9 mi | 43.6 | 25% | 25% |
| Great Torrington | 5,958 | 7.1 mi | 47.4 | 26% | 26% |
| Bideford | 19,493 | 10.8 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 11.8 mi | 53 | 33% | 21% |
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 Shebbear’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 Shebbear’s residents
What is the population of Shebbear?
The 2021 Census counted 396 people in Shebbear’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shebbear?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shebbear?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shebbear?
40% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Shebbear good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shebbear’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.