Findings where this place differs most from its surroundings, with the evidence behind each one. A difference is not a verdict: it is a prompt to look closer.
Neighbourhoodshigh confidence
Lower than England: Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall)
Share of residents living in the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England (overall) is 3.8% in Mid Devon (2025), compared with 20.3% in England (16.5 percentage points lower; n = 84,993).
3.8% here20.3% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government: English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (LSOA 2021 ranks and deciles) (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2025
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Summarising deprivation for an area. The Indices of Deprivation rank every LSOA in England; decile 1 contains the most deprived 10 per cent of LSOAs nationally. Ranks and deciles are ordinal, so they are never averaged. An area is described by (1) how many of its LSOAs fall in each national decile, (2) how many of its residents live in LSOAs of each decile (mid-2024 population apportioned to output areas, see the area apportioning method), (3) the share of residents in the most deprived 10 and 20 per cent of LSOAs nationally, and (4) the median decile of residents. IoD is a relative measure of small areas, not of individuals: most people in a deprived LSOA are not deprived and many deprived people live elsewhere. England only. Where an area straddles the England-Wales border the figures cover the English part only and are not published unless 90 per cent of residents are covered.
- Limitations
- none recorded
Homeshigh confidence
Lower than England: Average monthly private rent
Average monthly private rent is £878 in Mid Devon (Aug 2026), compared with £1,459 in England (40% lower).
£878 here£1,459 England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: Price Index of Private Rents, UK: monthly price statistics (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- Aug 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Private rents (PIPR). The ONS Price Index of Private Rents measures the change in rents paid by private tenants, and publishes an average (mean) monthly rent per local authority from the same data. The figure is a mean, not a median, so a few very high rents pull it up, especially in London and where there are few lettings. It covers rents paid for homes let on the private market (not social rents) and reflects all tenancies in the stock, not only new lets, except in Scotland where the underlying data are mainly advertised new lets, which makes Scotland not directly comparable with England and Wales. Annual change is the change in the rental price index, not in the cash average. Rents are in cash terms, not adjusted for inflation. Averages by number of bedrooms are held for the latest month only.
- Limitations
Communitymedium confidence
Higher than similar council areas: Charities based in the area per 1,000 residents
Charities based in the area per 1,000 residents is 5.26 per 1,000 in Mid Devon (Oct 2026), compared with 2.38 per 1,000 across five council areas with a similar profile (High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur); about 2.2 times the average for similar areas. It lies outside the range of all five (1.90 per 1,000 to 3.20 per 1,000).
5.3 per 1,000 here2.4 per 1,000 five similar council areas: High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur
How do we know this?
- Source
- Charity Commission for England and Wales; OSCR (Scotland); Charity Commission for Northern Ireland: Registers of charities (registered address, latest income, charitable purposes) (Open Government Licence v3.0 (Charity Commission, OSCR and CCNI terms apply: not the register itself, no direct marketing))
- Period
- Oct 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur
- Method
- Charities in an area. A charity is placed by the postcode of its registered/contact address (or the nearest postcode to its geocoded address; some are placed by the nearest postcode to a geocoded address), so counts show where charities are based, not where they work: a national charity with a London address is counted in London. Income is the latest annual income on the register, summed; it is dominated by a few very large charities. "Declaring the area" counts charities that name the local authority (or its county) as an area of operation on the register; it does not mean services are delivered everywhere in that area. Registered charities only; unregistered community groups, small charities below the registration threshold and removed charities are not counted.
- Limitations
- A charity's recorded location is not necessarily where its services are delivered.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.
Educationhigh confidence
Lower than England: Pupils eligible for free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals is 19.0% in Mid Devon (2025/26), compared with 24.8% in England (5.8 percentage points lower; n = 10,887).
19% here24.8% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data: Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes (Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool))
- Period
- 2025/26
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Pupil-weighted school measures. FSM, SEN and absence percentages are school-level figures averaged with school roll (January 2026 census) as the weight; KS2 and KS4 measures are averaged with the number of eligible pupils (KS2) or the KS4 cohort as the weight. This equals the share of pupils in the area's schools, not of pupils living in the area. The England value uses the same method on the same files and is the comparator. Suppressed school values are skipped, so coverage differs by measure (the number of schools used is in the notes). Ofsted outcomes are the latest overall grade on record at 31 August 2026; schools inspected under the new report-card framework may carry no single grade.
- Limitations
- Share of pupils at schools in the area; pupil-weighted. From 42 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Economyhigh confidence
Higher than similar council areas: Business enterprises per 1,000 residents
Business enterprises per 1,000 residents is 54.1 per 1,000 in Mid Devon (2026), compared with 35.8 per 1,000 across five council areas with a similar profile (High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur); about 1.5 times the average for similar areas. It lies outside the range of all five (32.6 per 1,000 to 42.0 per 1,000).
54.1 per 1,000 here35.8 per 1,000 five similar council areas: High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur
How do we know this?
- Source
- Office for National Statistics: UK Business Counts (Inter-Departmental Business Register), enterprises and local units, via Nomis (Open Government Licence v3.0)
- Period
- 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with five similar council areas: High Peak, North Kesteven, North East Derbyshire, Worthing, Adur
- Method
- Business counts. UK Business Counts count businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE on the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) at a March snapshot. An enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units with a degree of autonomy; a local unit is a single site of an enterprise, counted where the site is. Businesses below the VAT threshold and not running PAYE (many sole traders) are not included, so counts understate the smallest businesses. Counts are rounded to the nearest 5. Enterprises are placed in an area by where their head office or main site is registered with HMRC, which for multi-site firms may not be where staff work: local units are the better guide to where businesses operate. Size bands are by employment (employees plus working proprietors). Industry is the SIC 2007 section of the main activity.
- Limitations
- Residents are the mid-2024 estimate.
- Similar areas are the five council areas closest on population size, share aged 65 and over, share aged under 16, share of neighbourhoods in the most deprived 20%, median house price (standardised); this is a convenience comparison, not a like-for-like guarantee.
Economymedium confidence
Larger share in "Agriculture, forestry and fishing": Business sites by industry (SIC section)
In the breakdown "Business sites by industry (SIC section)" (2026), "Agriculture, forestry and fishing" makes up 26.2% in Mid Devon, compared with 3.4% in England.
26.2% here3.4% England
How do we know this?
- Source
- not recorded
- Period
- 2026
- Geography
- Council area, compared with England
- Method
- Business counts. UK Business Counts count businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE on the ONS Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) at a March snapshot. An enterprise is the smallest combination of legal units with a degree of autonomy; a local unit is a single site of an enterprise, counted where the site is. Businesses below the VAT threshold and not running PAYE (many sole traders) are not included, so counts understate the smallest businesses. Counts are rounded to the nearest 5. Enterprises are placed in an area by where their head office or main site is registered with HMRC, which for multi-site firms may not be where staff work: local units are the better guide to where businesses operate. Size bands are by employment (employees plus working proprietors). Industry is the SIC 2007 section of the main activity.
- Limitations
- none recorded