Photo: Neil Thomas · CC BY-SA 2.0Who lives in Willand: a median age of 46.1, 1,470 households
Willand had 3,477 residents and 1,470 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 46.1 (older than 62% of UK towns). The ONS estimates 3,600 people lived here in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
Willand grew 9% in 13 years, more slowly than England’s 10%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Willand’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,400 people in 2011; 3,600 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+29%) and the 16 to 29 least (−14%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 80 people.
Older than 62% of UK towns: a median age of 46.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.8% of residents. 23% of Willand is 65 or over, against 24% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. In Budleigh Salterton, the oldest of Devon’s towns by this measure, it is 46%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Willand, 46.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
31% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs
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%.
31% of Willand’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. 8.6% of residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns.
1,470 households: one in 4 is one person living alone
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.
Families with dependent children are 26% of households (England’s towns 29%), and 15% are someone 66 or over living alone (Devon’s towns 16%). Households average 2.3 people.
The most common home: a detached house, for 45% of households
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
5.7% of households live in a flat, less than in 79% of UK towns; 45% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. One household in 11 has no car or van.
6.1% born outside the UK
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
6.1% of residents were born outside the UK, against 7.9% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (4.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). 18% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. 96% of residents have English as their main language.
48% said they are Christian and 45% that they have no religion
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: 93% of Willand · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 91% across Devon’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (4.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.2%).
On religion, 45% answered “no religion” and 48% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns.
52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
27% of Willand’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 52% are married, against 39% and 44% across England’s towns. 107 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
26% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
26% of Willand’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 19% have none (18%).
339th youngest of 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Willand in age: Stoke Poges (46.1), Batheaston (46.1), Hope (46.1) and Brynamman (46.1).
4 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Willand
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Willand | 3,477 | — | 46.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Uffculme | 2,041 | 2.1 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 28% |
| Sampford Peverell | 1,375 | 2.2 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 27% |
| Cullompton | 8,895 | 2.6 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 28% |
| Tiverton | 19,710 | 4.8 mi | 42.5 | 22% | 26% |
| Bradninch | 1,827 | 5.1 mi | 45.2 | 22% | 32% |
| Hemyock | 1,674 | 6.4 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 28% |
| Dunkeswell | 1,835 | 6.9 mi | 52.3 | 29% | 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 Willand’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. Willand’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,477 people in 2021, against 3,477 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 Willand’s residents
What is the population of Willand?
The 2021 Census counted 3,477 people in Willand’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,600 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Willand?
The median age was 46.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 62% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Willand?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Willand?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Willand good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Willand’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.