Photo: Gwyn Jones · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Sherford is under 31, younger than 99% of UK towns
3.6% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. One-person households account for 20%. Fewer households in detached houses than in 78% of UK towns: 18%. Sherford’s 467 households held 1,311 residents at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Sherford’s people
A village of families
48% of Sherford’s 467 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns. 28% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Sherford’s residents are under 31 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 12% are 15 to 24 and 4.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A village people move to
31% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2.9 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
More with no religion than most
58% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 36% 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).
Only 4.4% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
On residents aged 15 to 24, 12% here is much the same as across England’s towns. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Sherford ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 31%
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%.
6% of adults are full-time students; across England’s towns the figure is 7.9%. Across England’s towns, residents who moved in within the year come to 11%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Above 99% of UK towns: 48% of households have dependent children
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 2.8 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, households with dependent children come to 29%. On the census count, 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Sherford: 43% of households live in a terraced house, above 96% 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
Flats are home to nearly one in ten households, against 23% across England’s towns. To put it in context, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
4% born outside the UK, fewer than in 78% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in Africa (0.9%). 98% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 63% of UK towns. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
Sherford sits above 99% of UK towns for residents with no religion (58%)
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: 94% of Sherford · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and African (0.5%). Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 36% here, fewer than in 97% of UK towns. For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops 66% of UK towns: 94%.
In Sherford, 40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 89% of UK towns
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 28 residents. Sherford has fewer unpaid carers than just over four fifths of UK towns, at 8.2%. The usual figure: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Among adults, 39% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Sherford, 39%, and 6.4% have none, against 18%.
Every neighbour of Sherford has an older population
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
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 Sherford’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 Sherford’s residents
What is the population of Sherford?
The 2021 Census counted 1,311 people in Sherford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sherford?
The median age was 31 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 4.4% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sherford?
94% 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 Sherford?
58% said they had no religion and 36% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Sherford good for families?
48% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sherford’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.