Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.028% of residents are 65 or over, a share 86% of UK towns don’t reach
Households with dependent children make up 24%, against 29% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put South Molton’s population at 6,226, in 2,792 households. In South Molton, 44% of residents said they have no religion. 33% of households are one person living alone, more than in 77% of UK towns.
What the Census says about South Molton’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put South Molton at 4,900 in 2011 and 6,400 in 2024, up 32%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 94% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Many older residents
28% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 86% of UK towns; 18% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A growing town: +32% since 2011, faster than 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. South Molton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,900 people in 2011; 6,400 in 2024.
The steepest year was mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 370 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+58%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (+7%).
8.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 85% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 7% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Half of South Molton’s residents are over 47.6, older than in 72% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ South Molton, 47.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Fewer full-time students than 89% of UK towns: 3.8%
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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; South Molton has 26% and 31%. At 12%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is higher than in 91% of UK towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
South Molton households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 78% 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.
2.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%).
Households in terraced houses make up 29% in South Molton, more than in 82% 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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, against 12% in South Molton. Set beside that, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns. Households without a car or van account for 18%. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 33% here, more than in 59% of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 4.9%, a lower share than 66% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%. On residents whose main language is English, South Molton sits higher than 51% of UK towns: 98%. Where 21% of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 23%.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 71% of UK towns, at 94%
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 South Molton · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.9%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.2%). To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 48%, fewer than in three fifths of UK towns.
Adults who have never married: 30%, a lower share than 65% 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
Unpaid carers: 10% here and 8.7% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. 211 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. South Molton has fewer married adults and civil partners than 55% of UK towns, at 47%.
Qualified to degree level: 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
South Molton’s adults: 24% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
220th oldest of 624 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to South Molton in age: Cookham (47.6), Copthorne (47.6), Hamble-le-Rice (47.6) and Selston (47.7).
A younger town than 3 of the 5 around it: South Molton
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Molton | 6,226 | — | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 7.2 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 7.9 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
| Witheridge | 1,306 | 9.1 mi | 53.4 | 32% | 23% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 10.5 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 11.8 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 24% |
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 South Molton’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. South Molton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 6,090 people in 2021, against 6,226 in the built-up area.
- 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 South Molton’s residents
What is the population of South Molton?
The 2021 Census counted 6,226 people in South Molton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 6,400 people in mid-2024, 32% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in South Molton?
The median age was 47.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 72% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is South Molton?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in South Molton?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is South Molton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on South Molton’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.