List of towns and cities in Devon by population

Map showing the location of the settlements within Devon. The size of the red circle corresponds to the size of its population.

This list is of towns and cities in Devon in order of their population, according to the 2001 (Torbay 2011) census data from the Office for National Statistics. It comprises the Key Statistics for local authorities, civil parishes and wards that attempt to show their populations. The largest settlement in Devon is the city and unitary authority of Plymouth with a population of 256,400, whereas the smallest settlement was the town and civil parish of Hatherleigh with a population of 1,306. The city of Exeter, which is home to Exeter Cathedral, is the county town and headquarters of Devon County Council. The ceremonial county of Devon includes unitary authority areas such as Plymouth and Torbay, but the non-metropolitan county of Devon excludes such unitary authority areas. It is governed by Devon County Council, whereas Plymouth and Torbay can govern themselves on matters such as transport and education.

Traditionally a town is any settlement which has received a charter of incorporation, more commonly known as a town charter, approved by the monarch. However, since 1974, any civil parish has the right to declare itself as a town. Prior to 1888, city status was given to settlements home to a cathedral of the Church of England such as Exeter. After 1888 it was no longer a necessary condition, leading to Plymouth gaining city-status in 1928. Historical towns such as Plympton, Stonehouse and Devonport, which were merged into the city of Plymouth, have not been included, as well as Topsham, which became a part of Exeter's urban district, and St Marychurch, which was annexed by Torquay. However, the unitary authority area of Torbay recognises the three towns of Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The ward for Ottery St Mary is also included, as it is titled Ottery St Mary Town.

Changes to population structures have, however, led to explosions in non-traditional settlements that do not fall into traditional, bureaucratic definitions of 'towns'. Several villages, which are not included in this list, have grown steadily and are more populous than many towns. For example, Fremington, with a population of 9,744,^[1] would be in the top 20 whilst its neighbour Braunton, with a population of 7,510,^[2] is just below it.

Rank	Population	Town/city	Notes	Image
1	256,400[3]	Plymouth	City and unitary authority, which includes the suburbs of Plympton and Plymstock. Plympton used to be a separate town and Plymstock is a parish.
2	117,800[4]	Exeter	City, urban district and the county town (capital) of Devon
3	65,245[5]	Torquay	Part of the unitary authority of Torbay
4	49,021[5]	Paignton	Part of the unitary authority of Torbay
5	34,432[6]	Exmouth	Civil parish
6	25,556[7]	Newton Abbot	Civil parish
7	20,724[8]	Barnstaple	Civil parish
8	18,621[9]	Tiverton	Civil parish
9	16,693[5]	Brixham	Civil parish; part of the unitary authority of Torbay.[10]
10	14,413[11]	Teignmouth	Civil parish
11	14,407[12]	Bideford	Civil parish
12	14,407[13]	Sidmouth	Civil parish
13	13,135[14]	Dawlish	Civil parish
14	12,056[15]	Ivybridge	Civil parish
15	11,604[16]	Northam	Civil parish
16	11,018[17]	Tavistock	Civil parish
17	10,857[18]	Honiton	Civil parish
18	10,840[19]	Ilfracombe	Civil parish
19	10,615[20]	Kingsteignton	Civil parish
20	7,609[21]	Cullompton	Civil parish
21	7,444[22]	Totnes	Civil parish
22	6,929[23]	Bovey Tracey	Civil parish
23	6,837[24]	Crediton	Civil parish
24	6,798[25]	Seaton	Civil parish
25	5,846[26]	Okehampton	Civil parish
26	5,626[27]	Axminster	Civil parish
27	5,521[28]	Kingsbridge	Civil parish
28	5,512[29]	Dartmouth	Civil parish
29	5,279[30]	Great Torrington	Civil parish
30	4,801[31]	Budleigh Salterton	Civil parish
31	4,366[32]	Ottery St Mary	Ward, which refers to Ottery St Mary as a "town".
32	4,093[33]	South Molton	Civil parish
33	3,909[34]	Ashburton	Civil parish
34	3,846[35]	Salcombe	Civil parish
35	3,661[36]	Buckfastleigh	Civil parish
36	3,310[37]	Exminster	Civil parish
37	2,964[38]	Colyton	Civil parish including Colyford
38	2,256[39]	Holsworthy	Civil parish
39	1,916[40]	Bradninch	Civil parish
40	1,893[41]	Chudleigh	Civil parish
41	1,676[42]	Hartland	Civil parish
42	1,570[43]	North Tawton	Civil parish
43	1,536[44]	Moretonhampstead	Civil parish
44	1,470[45]	Chagford	Civil parish
45	1,381[46]	Beer	Civil parish
46	1,308[47]	Chulmleigh	Civil parish
47	1,306[48]	Hatherleigh	Civil parish

See also

• List of largest United Kingdom settlements by population
• List of English districts by population
• List of Scottish council areas by population (2004)
• List of Welsh principal areas by population
• Local Councils in Northern Ireland by population
• List of conurbations in the United Kingdom
• Travel to Work Area

References

Ceremonial county of Devon
Devon Portal
Unitary authorities	Plymouth Torbay
Boroughs or districts	Exeter East Devon Mid Devon North Devon Torridge West Devon South Hams Teignbridge
Major settlements	Ashburton Axminster Bampton Barnstaple Bideford Bovey Tracey Bradninch Brixham Buckfastleigh Budleigh Salterton Chagford Chudleigh Chulmleigh Colyton Crediton Cullompton Dartmouth Dawlish Exeter Exmouth Great Torrington Hartland Hatherleigh Holsworthy Honiton Ilfracombe Ivybridge Kingsbridge Kingsteignton Lynton Modbury Moretonhampstead Newton Abbot North Tawton Northam Okehampton Ottery St Mary Paignton Plymouth Plympton Salcombe Seaton Sidmouth South Brent South Molton Tavistock Teignmouth Tiverton Torquay Totnes See also: List of civil parishes in Devon
Rivers	Ashburn Avon Axe Barle Bovey Bray Burn Clyst Creedy Culm Dart East Dart West Dart Erme Exe Heddon Lemon Lew Lumburn Lyd East Lyn West Lyn Meavy Mole Okement East Okement West Okement Otter Plym Sid Swincombe Tamar Tavy Taw Teign Thrushel Torridge Walkham Wallabrooke East Webburn West Webburn Wolf Yealm
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Coordinates: 50°42′N 3°48′W / 50.7°N 3.8°W / 50.7; -3.8