Photo: Geoff Pick · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Thurlestone is over 65.4, older than 99% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 29% of households have dependent children; in Thurlestone, 11%. The share of adults who have never married stands at 18%. 12% of households live in a terraced house, a lower share than in 83% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 566 residents here, living in 273 households.
Above 99% of UK towns: 51% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 7.6% of residents, against 12% across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of full-time students than 89% of UK towns, at 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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Thurlestone has 45% and 14%. 12% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, more than the 11% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns: 1.1%
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.
27% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. There are 2 people in the average household.
Thurlestone: 62% of households live in a detached house, above 97% 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
In Thurlestone, 5.8% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Census figures put households without a car or van at 9.5% in the village.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 52% of UK towns: 6.6%
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 birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.8%). For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 51% of UK towns: 98%.
In Thurlestone, 66% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 99% 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: 95% of Thurlestone · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion; in Thurlestone, 29%. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 95%.
In Thurlestone, 64% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 19 residents. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
16% of Thurlestone’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 39% have one at degree level (34%).
Every neighbour of Thurlestone has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thurlestone | 566 | — | 65.4 | 51% | 11% |
| Kingsbridge | 5,682 | 3.7 mi | 51.2 | 29% | 22% |
| Loddiswell | 1,032 | 4.3 mi | 42.8 | 23% | 31% |
| Salcombe | 1,583 | 4.4 mi | 58.7 | 38% | 13% |
| Modbury | 1,687 | 5.4 mi | 50 | 26% | 23% |
| Chillington | 1,074 | 7.2 mi | 56.5 | 35% | 20% |
| Yealmpton | 2,007 | 8.3 mi | 51.4 | 32% | 27% |
| Ivybridge | 12,485 | 8.6 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 30% |
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 Thurlestone’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 Thurlestone’s residents
What is the population of Thurlestone?
The 2021 Census counted 566 people in Thurlestone’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thurlestone?
The median age was 65.4 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 51% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thurlestone?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thurlestone?
29% said they had no religion and 66% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Thurlestone good for families?
11% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thurlestone’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.