Devizes belongs to people who have finished moving house. Six in ten households own their home. The typical resident is in their late forties. One household in three is a single person. Students barely register. It's a town for staying put, not for starting out.
About 62% of households own their home, according to the 2021 Census. Around 22% rent from the council or a housing association, and only about 14% rent privately. Social tenants outnumber private renters, which is not the usual shape for a pretty market town. The buy-to-let market has never taken over here, and plenty of the flats are homes rather than investments.
The median resident is 47, and about 22% of the population is aged 25 to 44. That's a town that has had its children, raised some of them, and is now reviewing its pension.
Modelled household income across the area averaged about £54,000 before tax in the financial year to March 2023. That's a gross figure, and it's about the town's finances a few years ago rather than its payslips today. Nobody here is flashing it around. The money in Devizes shows in paid-off mortgages, not in new cars on the drive.
The 2021 Census shows the household mix as well. About 33% of households are one person living alone, and about 15% are a pensioner living alone, which is part of that 33%, not in addition to it. Couples with dependent children make up about 17% of households and lone parents about 10%. Families are part of the picture, but they don't set its tone. The quiet street is more likely to be quiet because of a retired widower than because it's a cul-de-sac.
On qualifications, about 30% of residents hold a degree, about 16% have no formal qualifications, and about 1% are full-time students. It's a mixed town, where the graduate and the tradesperson share a pub garden and a view of the other's extension. With no university to supply them, the student population rounds to almost nothing, and the town's weekend nights belong to adults.
About 81% of residents describe their health as good or very good. At local-authority level, the Wiltshire council area's rate of preventable deaths is better than England's, and its smoking rate, at about 8%, is similar to England's. Those are county figures with an England benchmark, not a measure of the town's own residents, but they describe the place Devizes sits in.
Devizes is an ordinary, middle-of-the-road town for people who plan to stay: owners, older households, a mix of backgrounds and not much churn. Young professionals looking for company their own age will find the town has already settled down.