Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0Household incomes in South Molton trail those of 78% of UK towns
43% of residents who travel to work go less than 3 miles. UK towns are the yardstick, and by them South Molton earns D on jobs and income, #36 of 47 in Devon. 3% of people of working age are on jobless benefits, against 2.7% in the typical UK town.
Jobs and income in South Molton: what the figures say
More jobs than the typical town
2,551 jobs are based in South Molton for 2,624 working residents; the typical UK town has 0.7 jobs per resident in work. Education, head offices and management consulting and shops make up 30% of them. Jobs based here ↓
As many come in to work as leave
1,086 people come in to work and 1,168 residents go out, so South Molton loses about 82 workers a day. Barnstaple sends the most (239). The daily tide ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 and BRES, DWP claimant counts via Nomis, and ONS household income.
On jobs and income, South Molton grades D
Better than 12% of UK towns once its four measures are combined: #36 of 47 in Devon.
Its strongest measure is the claimant rate; its weakest, household income.
How the grade works
Each input is ranked against every UK town of 1,000 or more (higher income and job access are better; fewer claimants and less employment deprivation are better), the four ranks are averaged, and the average is ranked again. A town needs three of the four.
2,551 jobs, 19% in professional, scientific and technical
1 for every working resident; the typical UK town has 0.7.
BRES counts jobs, not people (a part-time job and a second job count once each), so it runs above the Census count of people working here (2,533). Small areas are shared out to the town by where their Census 2021 workers were based; kinds of work are BRES industry divisions (SIC 2007), rounded. England’s towns: all jobs in its built-up areas.
Jobs at workplaces in South Molton (employees and working owners, ONS Business Register and Employment Survey 2024).
The commute in and out of South Molton balances out
2,624 residents were in work at the 2021 Census; 2,533 people worked in South Molton.
29% of residents who travel to a workplace stay in the town; in the typical UK town of 2,500+ it’s 14%.
The middle of each bar is the same people: residents who work in the town or from home.
Most of South Molton’s commuters who leave work in Barnstaple and the places around
- Countryside357
- Barnstaple239
- North Molton47
- Bideford44
- Great Torrington36
- Tiverton31
- Landkey29
- Fremington27
- Braunton21
- Ilfracombe21
- Countryside414
- Barnstaple402
- Exeter42
- Tiverton35
- Bideford29
- Braunton18
- Ilfracombe18
- Chulmleigh13
- Great Torrington13
- Swimbridge12
71% of residents who travel to a workplace work outside South Molton; Barnstaple takes the most (402). Coming the other way, Barnstaple sends the most (239).
The ten places that send the most workers into South Molton, and the ten where its residents most often work (Census 2021, by home and workplace). Line width is the number of people.
Mean household income: £45,517 a year
Higher than 26% of UK towns of 2,500+; the typical town is £52,385. The whole council area of North Devon averages £47,337.
The town figure is ONS’s neighbourhood (MSOA) estimates shared out by where the town’s residents live.
Total household income before tax, mean, year to March 2023 (ONS small-area estimates).
Walking, cycling, the bus or the train: 24% of South Molton’s commuters
Median journey 10.7 km; typical UK town 8.4 km.
South Molton grades A for walkability: the share of commuters who walk, cycle or take public transport, against UK towns.
ONS Census 2021, TS061 (method of travel) and TS058 (distance, straight line from home to workplace), output areas summed. Census day fell in the third lockdown, so fewer people travelled than usual.
How residents who travel to work get there, and how far they go (Census 2021, not counting those working mainly at home).
Jobless claims in the North Devon council area are below England and Wales’ rate
North Devon’s rate was about 1.8% in 2019, peaked at 5.9% in May 2020 and has averaged 2.9% in 2026, against 4% across England and Wales. Claims everywhere stay higher than before the pandemic, partly because Universal Credit counts more people on low pay as looking for work.
The chart is the whole council area of North Devon, which Nomis publishes monthly; the figures above the line are for South Molton’s built-up area. Claimant count: people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance, or Universal Credit while required to look for work. Employment deprivation counts people out of work on Jobseeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Incapacity Benefit, Severe Disablement Allowance, Carer’s Allowance or the Universal Credit equivalents (English Indices of Deprivation 2025). The “most deprived tenth” compares areas within England only.
Claimant rate since 2015: people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit while looking for work, as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 (DWP, via Nomis).
32% of South Molton’s adults have retired
ONS Census 2021, tables TS066 (economic activity) and TS063 (occupation), output areas summed to the built-up area. England’s towns: everyone living in its built-up areas.
Everyone 16 and over, by what they were doing the week before the 2021 Census, and the jobs of those in work.
Among UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000, South Molton ranks 520th of 614 for jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Jobs per worker | Work in own town | Claimants | Income | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moor Park Hertfordshire | 5,850 | 2.2 | 17% | 1.1% | £86K | A+ |
| 2 | Brookmans Park Hertfordshire | 4,033 | 0.9 | 7% | 1.2% | £79K | A+ |
| 3 | Girton Cambridgeshire | 4,384 | 0.8 | 7% | 1.1% | £72K | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 234 | Topsham Devon | 4,193 | 0.6 | 10% | 2.4% | £56K | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 257 | Exminster Devon | 4,388 | 0.6 | 8% | 2% | £57K | B |
| … | |||||||
| 265 | Cranbrook Devon | 4,936 | 1.9 | 7% | 2.6% | £73K | B |
| … | |||||||
| 518 | Leiston Suffolk | 5,919 | 0.6 | 21% | 2.9% | £47K | D |
| 519 | Darfield South Yorkshire | 7,209 | 0.4 | 5% | 3.7% | £40K | D |
| 520 | South Molton Devon | 6,226 | 1 | 29% | 3% | £46K | D |
| 521 | Shotton Clwyd | 6,500 | 0.5 | 8% | 4.8% | £38K | D |
| 522 | Whitworth Lancashire | 6,713 | 0.4 | 10% | 4.1% | £42K | D |
| … | |||||||
| 614 | Withernsea East Riding of Yorkshire | 5,766 | 0.7 | 35% | 5.4% | £39K | D− |
Jobs & income letters rank against every UK town of 1,000 or more; the order here is context only.
Ordered by Jobs & income Grade: the top three, the towns either side of South Molton, and others in Devon.
How the places next to South Molton compare on work
| Town | People | Jobs | Work in own town | Claimants | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Molton | 6,226 | 2,551 | 29% | 3% | D |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 350 | 23% | 2.9% | D |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 212 | 4% | 1.5% | B |
| Witheridge | 1,306 | 254 | 20% | 2.7% | D |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 22,559 | 65% | 3.6% | C− |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 188 | 12% | 2.1% | C+ |
Jobs based in each place, commuters who stay in their own town, and the claimant rate.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in lockdown. Census day was 21 March 2021, during the third national lockdown: many people were furloughed or working from home, so fewer travelled to work, and journeys were shorter, than before the pandemic or since. The flows on this page show where people worked that spring.
- At home and no fixed place are one figure. In the workplace flows, ONS puts people who mainly worked at home and people with no fixed workplace (drivers, builders, care workers on rounds) at their home address, so the two can’t be told apart there.
- Towns are built-up areas. South Molton here is ONS’s built-up area: the town as built, not its council district. A workplace on an estate or farm outside every built-up area counts as “outside any built-up area”.
- Jobs are counted where they are. BRES counts jobs at each workplace (employees and working owners, rounded by ONS), so a town with a hospital, university or big employer can have more jobs than working residents. Small areas are shared out to towns by where their Census workers were based.
- The benefits chart is the council area. Nomis publishes the claimant count monthly for councils back to 2013, so the line is North Devon as a whole; the claimant rate elsewhere on this page is South Molton’s built-up area, from small areas.
Questions about work in South Molton
Where do people in South Molton work?
At the 2021 Census, 29% of South Molton’s residents who travelled to work worked in the town itself; the most common other places were Barnstaple (402), Exeter (42) and Tiverton (35). 37% of working residents worked mainly at home or had no fixed workplace; the Census was taken in lockdown, so home working was unusually high.
How many people commute into South Molton?
1,086 people who lived elsewhere worked in South Molton at the 2021 Census, 43% of its 2,533 workers. The most came from Barnstaple (239), North Molton (47) and Bideford (44). 1,168 residents travelled out the other way.
How many jobs are there in South Molton?
About 2,550 jobs (employees and working owners) were based in South Molton in 2024, on ONS’s Business Register and Employment Survey: 1 for every resident in work, against 0.7 in the typical UK town. The biggest kinds of work are education (about 240), head offices and management consulting (about 240) and shops (about 190).
Is South Molton a good place to find work?
South Molton earns a D for jobs and income, better than 12% of UK towns on household income, the claimant rate, employment deprivation and access to jobs together. Mean household income £45,517; 3% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
How do people in South Molton get to work?
73% of commuters go by car or van, 21% walk, 1% cycle and 2% take the bus or train; 43% travel under 5 km. Census 2021, taken during lockdown.
What is the average household income in South Molton?
Mean household income before tax was £45,517 in the year to March 2023 (ONS), against £52,385 in the typical UK town.
How does South Molton compare with Plymouth for jobs?
South Molton has 1 jobs per working resident against Plymouth’s 1, a 3% claimant rate against 3.6%, and mean household income of £45,517 against £48,927.
Sources: ONS Census 2021 origin-destination data, place of work (ODWP01EW), output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · ONS Census 2021 tables TS058 (distance), TS061 (method of travel), TS063 (occupation) and TS066 (economic activity) · ONS Business Register and Employment Survey via Nomis (open access), by industry division · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023); House of Commons Library MSOA names · DWP claimant count via Nomis (towns January to August 2026; councils, regions and England and Wales monthly since January 2015) · MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation 2025 · DfT Transport Connectivity Metric (employment) · 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.