Okehampton
West Devon 002 · 4 sub-areas · 7,851 residents
West Devon 002 is a rural stretch of West Devon, home to around 7,800 people and noticeably more affordable than most of southern England. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £763 a month — well under the UK average for a 2-bed — though school catchment options within easy reach are limited, and you'll rely heavily on a car to get around.
Okehampton is a settled residential pocket of West Devon. The bigger gravitational centre is Bristol, around 121 minutes away by direct train, but most days don't require leaving — local life is what people are here for. The population skews older, with a long-settled feel and a high share of retirees.
Overview
What's it like to live in Okehampton?
Greenspace is on the doorstep — a park or playing field is within walking distance of most homes; Crime sits around the national average — neither a notable concern nor a notable selling point; rents are below the national norm, with a typical home letting at around £837 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Okehampton in West Devon
Living in Okehampton
West Devon 002 covers a largely rural part of West Devon, and that shapes almost everything about daily life here. The pace is quieter, the density low, and the landscape — open countryside typical of the South West — is rarely far away. With greenspace on average just over 500 metres away and around four in ten residents within easy walking distance of open land, it genuinely delivers on the rural promise. What it doesn't deliver is convenience in the urban sense.
Rents are among the more accessible in the South West. A two-bedroom home runs around £763 a month — well below the UK median of around £1,200 for a 2-bed — and even a three-bedroom property averages just under £950. That affordability has limits, though: the rent-to-take-home ratio sits at roughly 49%, which is high relative to what you'd expect at this rent level, reflecting modest local earnings. The median resident salary is around £26,500 a year.
The population skews older than you'd find in most UK cities. Around one in four residents is 65 or older, and the 50–64 bracket adds another fifth on top of that. Families with children are present — nearly one in five households fits that profile — but this isn't a neighbourhood with a particularly young demographic. Over six in ten homes are owner-occupied, which reinforces the settled, established feel. Just over a quarter are private renters.
Practically, a car is close to essential. Only around 1% of residents commute by public transport, while more than half drive to work. Just over one in five works from home — a share well above the national average, which tells you something about who's been drawn here in recent years. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 1.5 km away (about an 18-minute walk), but public-transport connections beyond that are limited. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how specific parts of this area compare.
What you'll need on day one
Compare Okehampton with
Frequently asked
- Is West Devon 002 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, rural part of West Devon with genuinely low rents and easy access to open countryside — greenspace is typically within 500 metres. The trade-off is real: you'll need a car for almost everything, school options within catchment distance are limited, and the area skews older. It suits people who prioritise space and affordability over urban convenience.
- What is the rent in West Devon 002?
- A one-bedroom home averages around £596 a month, a two-bedroom around £763, and a three-bedroom around £941. These are estimates scaled from county-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose by roughly 1.9% over the past year — a modest increase by recent national standards.
- Is West Devon 002 safe?
- The crime rate is around 74 per 1,000 residents annually, below the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. Rural areas like this typically see lower rates of acquisitive and violent crime than urban equivalents. It's not a high-crime area by any measure.
- What's the commute from West Devon 002 to the nearest major city?
- Most residents drive — over 56% commute by car. By public transport, reaching London takes roughly 188 minutes and Birmingham around 209 minutes. The nearest mainline rail station is about 1.5 km away. With just 1.4% of residents using public transport to commute, this is firmly car country.
- Who lives in West Devon 002?
- Mostly older, settled residents: around a quarter are 65 or over, and nearly half are over 50. Over six in ten homes are owner-occupied. The area is relatively homogeneous, with around 93% of residents born in the UK. About one in five works from home, pointing to a professional contingent alongside more traditional rural occupations.
- What schools are near West Devon 002?
- There are 13 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 20% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 18 km away. Families should check individual catchments carefully before moving here.
- How affordable is buying a home in West Devon 002?
- The median house price is around £252,000. With typical local earnings of around £26,500 a year, it takes roughly 4.7 years to save a deposit — more achievable than much of the South East, though still a stretch on local wages. Council tax (Band D) adds around £2,705 a year.