Tavistock grades C overall against UK towns: better than 29% of UK towns, and #25 of 47 in Devon. Its strongest subject is walkability (A−): 22% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is hazard risk (D): 6.9% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £280,000 in the last three years, 5.6 times what households in the West Devon council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Tavistock is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tavistock.
Who lives here
Tavistock skews older, with 30% of residents 65 or over, more than Devon’s towns or England’s towns
On this, Tavistock is above both Devon’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Young adults of 15 to 24 are 9.3% of the population. The median resident of Tavistock is 51.7 years old.
51.7median age
TavistockDevonEngland
Ages · share of residents
30%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 91 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.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 6 schools →
History
163 listed buildings, 5 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Tavistock has 163 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 5 Grade I, 3 Grade II*. Tavistock has 129 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, close to Devon’s towns (104) and above England’s towns (39). Tavistock’s listed buildings include Abbey Gatehouse, Grade I.
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
80% of residents say their health is good or very good
80% of Tavistock’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 80% across Devon’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Tavistock than in Devon’s towns or across England’s towns: 27.9 per 1,000 residents a year
For Tavistock, that is above both Devon’s towns (21.4) and England’s towns (22). Police recorded 674 crimes inside Tavistock’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 90 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
27.9violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC+Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 69% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual352
Damage & arson77
Public order67
Shoplifting55
Other theft55
Other crime24
Vehicle crime14
Burglary12
Anti-social90
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
27.9
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
9.1
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
8.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
Francis Drake: Marcus Gheeraerts the Younger, Public domain · Pete Quaife: Unknown photographer, Public domain · Andy Hicks: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0 · John Surman: bagoum, CC BY-SA 2.0 · James Withycombe: The original uploader was Richard Arthur Norton (1958- ) at English Wikipedia., Public domain · Angela Mudge: DeLarge, CC BY-SA 3.0
Horrabridge, Yelverton, Bere Alston, Princetown and Kelly Bray have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Tavistock
How many listed buildings are there in Tavistock?
That is 5.3 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Abbey Gatehouse. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Does Tavistock flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
How much is council tax in Tavistock?
Band D council tax in Tavistock is £2,842 for 2026–27, more than in 99% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Tavistock
Town in Devon, England
Tavistock is a built-up area of 12,676 people, in the West Devon council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
12,676 (Census 2021)
Council
West Devon
County
Devon
Region
South West
Area
1.8 sq mi (4.6 km²)
ONS code
E63006844
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
