Photo: Kicior99 · CC BY-SA 3.0A median age of 58: Westward Ho! is older than 98% of UK towns
Set against 29% across England’s towns, 15% of households have dependent children in Westward Ho!. 3,468 residents in 1,812 households: that is Westward Ho! at the 2021 Census. The census found that 41% of households are one person living alone locally. Fewer adults who have never married than in 88% of UK towns: 26%.
What the Census says about Westward Ho!’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Westward Ho!’s residents are under 58 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 38% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
387 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 93% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
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 98% of UK towns: 38%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: just over one in ten residents, 2.3 times the share across England’s towns. 7.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 98% of UK towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Westward Ho!, 58. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Full-time students make up 2.6% in Westward Ho!, less than in 99% 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%.
30% of Westward Ho!’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 26% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. For Westward Ho!, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 11%.
1.9 people per household, 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 share of shared households of unrelated adults tops 62% of UK towns: 2.6%.
Westward Ho!: 45% of households live in a detached house, above 85% 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
Nearly a fifth of households have no car or van; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. As a yardstick, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses account for 13%.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 80% of UK towns: 99%
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 share of residents born outside the UK trails nearly two thirds of UK towns: 4.8%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.6%) and in Africa (0.8%). Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as White British than 75% 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 Westward Ho! · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.2%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian are more common here than in 58% of UK towns. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. By its share of residents with no religion (41%), Westward Ho! is below 51% of UK towns.
Unpaid carers make up 11% in Westward Ho!, 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
132 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. On married adults and civil partners, Westward Ho! sits higher than 52% of UK towns: 48%. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Among adults, 27% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
27% of Westward Ho!’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 20% have none (18%).
Of 749 UK towns its size (2,500 to 5,000 people), the 21st oldest
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Westward Ho! in age: Corbridge (57.9), Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea (57.9), Settle (58.2) and Bakewell (58.2).
Every nearby town is younger than Westward Ho!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Westward Ho! | 3,468 | — | 58 | 38% | 15% |
| Northam | 5,191 | 0.9 mi | 55.8 | 36% | 19% |
| Appledore | 1,711 | 1.8 mi | 56.6 | 34% | 17% |
| Bideford | 19,493 | 1.9 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 26% |
| Fremington | 5,229 | 4.8 mi | 53.6 | 33% | 23% |
| Chivenor and Wrafton | 1,953 | 5.4 mi | 31.9 | 9.8% | 41% |
| Braunton | 6,610 | 5.5 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 24% |
| Bickington | 2,105 | 6.4 mi | 52.3 | 30% | 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 Westward Ho!’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 Westward Ho!’s residents
What is the population of Westward Ho!?
The 2021 Census counted 3,468 people in Westward Ho!’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Westward Ho!?
The median age was 58 at the 2021 Census, older than 98% of UK towns. 7.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 38% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Westward Ho!?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Westward Ho!?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is Westward Ho! good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Westward Ho!’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.