Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0Winkleigh is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Winkleigh has 96%. By contrast, on households with dependent children, Winkleigh sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 21%. The village had 1,342 residents in 635 households at the 2021 Census. Households in flats: 4.1% of the total.
What the Census says about Winkleigh’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Winkleigh’s residents are under 53 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% 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).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 33% in Winkleigh, more than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: 9.1% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. Winkleigh has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns, at 7.9%. Set beside that, 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.
Fewer full-time students than 96% of UK towns: 3.4%
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%.
In Winkleigh, 30% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 10%.
Winkleigh households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 88% 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.
1.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. On the census count, 31% of households are one person living alone.
Only 9.9% of households in Winkleigh have no car or van
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
Just over two in five households live in a detached house; across England’s towns the figure is 21%. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 15% in Winkleigh. Every 10th household or so has no car or van.
More residents whose main language is English than 94% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
4.2% of residents were born outside the UK, against 7.9% across Devon’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). For comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Above 71% of UK towns: 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Winkleigh · Devon’s towns 91% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Winkleigh, 40% of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Pakistani (0.1%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Adults who have never married: 22%, a lower share than 98% 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
8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns, against 11% in Winkleigh. The share of married adults and civil partners stands at 55%. As a yardstick, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Winkleigh counts 26% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 19% have no qualification (18%).
Older than Winkleigh: 1 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winkleigh | 1,342 | — | 53 | 33% | 21% |
| North Tawton | 1,785 | 4.5 mi | 46.5 | 23% | 25% |
| Chulmleigh | 1,232 | 5.2 mi | 54.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Bow | 1,122 | 6.9 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 25% |
| Okehampton | 9,108 | 8.3 mi | 43.9 | 23% | 27% |
| Morchard Bishop | 1,041 | 8.5 mi | 52.8 | 30% | 24% |
| Copplestone | 1,475 | 9.2 mi | 40 | 18% | 31% |
| Great Torrington | 5,958 | 10.8 mi | 47.4 | 26% | 26% |
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 Winkleigh’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 Winkleigh’s residents
What is the population of Winkleigh?
The 2021 Census counted 1,342 people in Winkleigh’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Winkleigh?
The median age was 53 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Winkleigh?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 91% across Devon’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Winkleigh?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Winkleigh good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Winkleigh’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.