Photo: Liz Moon · CC BY-SA 2.0West Clyst is younger than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 32
Households in detached houses: 43% here and 21% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census counted 2,683 residents in 1,036 households. One-person households: 17% of the total. Lower than in 94% of UK towns: 7.3% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about West Clyst’s people
A town of families
45% of West Clyst’s 1,036 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 99% of UK towns and the highest share in Devon. 25% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of West Clyst’s residents are under 32 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 9.5% are 15 to 24 and 8.4% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
20% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
More with no religion than most
54% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 38% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 8.4%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.5%, against 12% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Clyst, 32. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
West Clyst: 20% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, above 98% 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%.
In West Clyst, 43% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 18% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year across England’s towns is 11%. Full-time students: 5.4% of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More households with dependent children than 99% of UK towns: 45%
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 share of shared households of unrelated adults is 3.3%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. There are 2.6 people in the average household.
West Clyst ranks below 58% of UK towns on households in terraced houses: 18%
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
12% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 23% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for households in terraced houses is 24% across England’s towns.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 72% of UK towns, at 96%
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
Residents born outside the UK: 6.8%, above 54% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%).
54% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 98% 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: 90% of West Clyst · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 90% in West Clyst and 73% across England’s towns. Lower than in 95% of UK towns: 38% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Set beside that, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (2.3%) and Indian (0.5%).
41% of adults have never married, more than in 93% 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
West Clyst sits close to the norm on unpaid carers: 8.2%, about the same as across England’s towns. As a yardstick, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 51. Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 64% of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 38%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 38% of its adults qualified to degree level, West Clyst compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 8.6% hold no qualification (18%).
8th youngest of 514 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); West Chiltington the oldest (63.1). Nearest to West Clyst in age: Ebbsfleet Valley (30.5), Stewartby (31.2), Little Dunmow (32.2) and Eglwys-Brewis (32.2).
West Clyst is younger than 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Clyst | 2,683 | — | 32 | 8.4% | 45% |
| Clyst Honiton | 1,030 | 0.9 mi | 31.2 | 7.6% | 37% |
| Broadclyst | 1,549 | 1.4 mi | 46.4 | 22% | 29% |
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | 2.3 mi | 30.5 | 4.7% | 44% |
| Exeter | 126,181 | 2.7 mi | 35.1 | 16% | 24% |
| Clyst St Mary | 1,193 | 2.7 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 32% |
| Topsham | 4,193 | 4.2 mi | 55 | 37% | 17% |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 4.8 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 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 West Clyst’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 West Clyst’s residents
What is the population of West Clyst?
The 2021 Census counted 2,683 people in West Clyst’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Clyst?
The median age was 32 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 8.4% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Clyst?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 6.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Clyst?
54% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is West Clyst good for families?
45% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Clyst’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.