Photo: Roger A Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Swimbridge is over 53.3, older than 94% of UK towns
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 96%, against 73% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census, 683 people lived in Swimbridge, in 278 households. Locally, 3.6% of households live in a flat or apartment. The village has more married adults and civil partners than 87% of UK towns, at 55%.
Swimbridge: 31% of residents are 65 or over, above 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: 8.8% of residents, 1.3 times the share across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The census found that nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Swimbridge.
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.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 94% of UK towns, at 13%
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%.
5.2% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England’s towns. Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Swimbridge
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 figure for households with dependent children is 25% in Swimbridge and 29% across England’s towns. For comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.8% of the total.
Swimbridge ranks above 92% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 53%
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
20% of households live in a terraced house (England’s towns: 24%). Across the comparison, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households without a car or van account for 9%.
Fewer residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 1.8%
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
90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, against 100% in Swimbridge. The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (0.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%).
53% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 68% 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: 96% of Swimbridge · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Here nearly two in five residents said they have no religion, where the figure across England’s towns is 37%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.3%), Indian (0.7%) and Mixed or multiple (0.6%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Below 98% of UK towns: 23% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 30 people. For adults who have never married, the comparison across England’s towns is 39%. Just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, more than in 83% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Swimbridge’s adults: 32% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Swimbridge is younger than 1 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swimbridge | 683 | — | 53.3 | 31% | 25% |
| Landkey | 2,001 | 1.6 mi | 46 | 24% | 28% |
| Barnstaple | 31,271 | 4.1 mi | 43.1 | 22% | 26% |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 5.7 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 21% |
| South Molton | 6,226 | 6.4 mi | 47.6 | 28% | 24% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 7.3 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 7.9 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 9.2 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
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 Swimbridge’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 Swimbridge’s residents
What is the population of Swimbridge?
The 2021 Census counted 683 people in Swimbridge’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Swimbridge?
The median age was 53.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swimbridge?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 1.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swimbridge?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Swimbridge good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swimbridge’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.