Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0West Hill is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.5
Households without a car or van make up 4.7%, against 24% across England’s towns. West Hill’s 827 households held 2,109 residents at the 2021 Census. The share of households in detached houses stands at 89%. 69% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about West Hill’s people
Older than most towns
Half of West Hill’s residents are under 53.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% 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).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 96% of UK towns: 34%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: one in ten residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. West Hill has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than just over two thirds of UK towns, at 9.2%. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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 full-time students than 71% of UK towns, at 5.4%
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%.
By class, 54% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 10% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
18% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
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 average household has 2.5 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The census found that 27% of households have dependent children in West Hill. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in three fifths of UK towns. The share of one-person households across England’s towns is 30%.
Fewer households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns: 2.4%
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
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in West Hill comes in at 2.1%. Across England’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses is 24%.
Residents whose main language is English: 99%, a higher share than 84% of UK towns
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
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are a tenth of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns). Locally, 7.1% of residents were born outside the UK. By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 82% of UK towns, at 56%
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 West Hill · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Indian (0.4%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 95%, more than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. By way of comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 38% of residents said they have no religion; across England’s towns the figure is 37%.
18% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 58. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 57% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 51% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
8.9% of West Hill’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 51% have one at degree level (34%).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than West Hill
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 Hill | 2,109 | — | 53.5 | 34% | 27% |
| Ottery St Mary | 6,043 | 2.2 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 29% |
| Newton Poppleford | 1,918 | 2.7 mi | 51 | 29% | 23% |
| Whimple | 1,120 | 2.7 mi | 50.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Cranbrook | 4,936 | 4 mi | 30.5 | 4.7% | 44% |
| Feniton | 1,725 | 4 mi | 43.8 | 22% | 30% |
| Sidmouth | 13,258 | 4.6 mi | 60.4 | 43% | 16% |
| Woodbury | 1,749 | 5.4 mi | 49.4 | 27% | 26% |
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 Hill’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 Hill’s residents
What is the population of West Hill?
The 2021 Census counted 2,109 people in West Hill’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Hill?
The median age was 53.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Hill?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 7.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Hill?
38% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is West Hill good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Hill’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.