Photo: Chris Andrews · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 91% of UK towns: half of Tavistock is over 51.7
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 22% in Tavistock. Higher than in 85% of UK towns: 35% of households are one person living alone. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 12,676, in 5,833 households. The share of adults who have never married stands at 28%.
What the Census says about Tavistock’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Tavistock’s residents are under 51.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 30% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. 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.
Tavistock grew +11% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 62% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Tavistock’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 12,300 people in 2011; 13,600 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2021 to mid-2022: 380. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+45%) and the 0 to 15 least (−7%).
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 91% of UK towns, at 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 9.3% in Tavistock and 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. No age band is larger than 55–59: 7.9% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Tavistock, 51.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
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.
More residents who moved in within the year than 87% of UK towns: 11%
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%.
Where 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns, Tavistock has 4.9%. Managerial and professional jobs account for 36% of the town’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 23%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 91% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
2.2% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns.
In Tavistock, 16% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 75% 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
The figure for households in detached houses is 33% in Tavistock and 21% across England’s towns. Against that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Census figures put households without a car or van at 18% locally. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 63% of UK towns.
Above 76% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.5%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 59% of UK towns: 5.5%. Of residents born abroad, 18% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 76% of UK towns: 95%
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: 95% of Tavistock · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.8%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.4%). For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across England’s towns is 73%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 51% here, more than in 57% of UK towns. Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Tavistock comes in at 42%.
Married adults and civil partners: 50%, a higher 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
The share of unpaid carers tops 63% of UK towns: 9.9%. Measured more widely, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Some 375 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Degree-level qualifications: 35% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 35% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 15% hold no qualification (18%).
25th highest median age among 382 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Tavistock in age: Greasby (51.4), Sandown (51.7), Hexham (51.8) and Teignmouth (51.8).
Older than Tavistock: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tavistock | 12,676 | — | 51.7 | 30% | 22% |
| Horrabridge | 1,875 | 3.2 mi | 51.5 | 28% | 24% |
| Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel | 3,506 | 3.8 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Yelverton | 1,856 | 4.3 mi | 57.8 | 39% | 18% |
| Bere Alston | 2,259 | 4.8 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 20% |
| Princetown | 1,442 | 6.5 mi | 42.7 | 17% | 25% |
| Kelly Bray | 1,137 | 7.7 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Callington | 4,665 | 8 mi | 50 | 26% | 21% |
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 Tavistock’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. Tavistock’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,676 people in 2021, against 12,676 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 Tavistock’s residents
What is the population of Tavistock?
The 2021 Census counted 12,676 people in Tavistock’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,600 people in mid-2024, 11% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Tavistock?
The median age was 51.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 91% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tavistock?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tavistock?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Tavistock good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Tavistock’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.