Chapel of St Mary Including Boundary Walls Adjoining to North West · Photo: John Lord · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of South Zeal is over 52, older than 92% of UK towns
By its share of residents who describe themselves as White British (97%), South Zeal is above 96% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the village’s population at 886, in 383 households. Here, 1.6% of households live in a flat or apartment. 5.3% of households have no car or van, a lower share than in 98% of UK towns.
7.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 9.7% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Across South Zeal, 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
3% of adults are full-time students, below 99% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; South Zeal has 38% and 19%. Residents who moved in within the year: 7.7% of the total. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Households with dependent children make up 24% in South Zeal, less than in 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.
In South Zeal, 27% of households are one person living alone, beside 30% across England’s towns. 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. For households with dependent children, the comparison across England’s towns is 29%.
South Zeal ranks above 77% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 28%
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
35% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Against that, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
South Zeal sits above 93% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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
By its share of residents born outside the UK (4.2%), South Zeal is below 75% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%).
43% said they have no religion, more than in 66% 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 South Zeal · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (1.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and African (0.3%). The benchmark for residents with no religion across England’s towns: 37%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are more common here than in 52% of UK towns.
In South Zeal, 28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 80% 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
Here 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across England’s towns is 44%. On average, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers account for 11%.
39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 39% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 14% hold no qualification (18%).
Median age: 2 of the 7 towns around South Zeal are older
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 Zeal | 886 | — | 52 | 27% | 24% |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 3.8 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Chagford | 1,107 | 4.7 mi | 56.1 | 35% | 18% |
| North Tawton | 1,785 | 5.2 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Bow | 1,122 | 6.7 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 25% |
| Moretonhampstead | 1,334 | 7.7 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 23% |
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | 9.3 mi | 53 | 33% | 21% |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 9.5 mi | 40 | 18% | 31% |
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 Zeal’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 South Zeal’s residents
What is the population of South Zeal?
The 2021 Census counted 886 people in South Zeal’s built-up area.
What is the average age in South Zeal?
The median age was 52 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is South Zeal?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in South Zeal?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is South Zeal good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on South Zeal’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.