More than a quarter of people in Teignbridge were single as the number of marriage and civil partnerships dropped across the country in the past decade, new census figures show.
The area follows trends across England and Wales, where the rate of single people has increased since the last census in 2011.
The number of people considered single – never having been in a civil partnership or marriage – in Teignbridge when the census took place last year was 33,413, up from 27114 in 2011.
Of those aged 16 and older in Teignbridge, 29.5% were single – an increase on 26.1% in 2011.
The picture was similar across England and Wales last year, where 37.9% of people 16 and older were single, up from 34.6% in 2011.
And 49.1% of people in Teignbridge were married or in a civil partnership last year – down from 52% 10 years prior.
Data from the census shows 55,149 people were in opposite sex marriages last year, up from 53,680 in 2011.
An additional 293 were in same sex marriages in Teignbridge last year – they were illegal in 2011.
The figures also show 211 people were in same sex civil partnerships last year and 80 were in opposite sex civil partnerships. There were 266 people in civil partnerships 10 years prior, which were only allowed for same sex couples at the time.
There were 13,109 divorced people and 39 people with a dissolved civil partnership in Teignbridge last year, making up 11.6% of people aged 16 and over.
John Wroth-Smith, Census deputy director, said: "When looking a bit deeper, we can see that the proportion of people in a marriage or civil partnership has declined, which follows the long-term trend of declining marriages."
"Conversely, the number of people who were never married or in a civil partnership has increased by almost 3 million," Mr Wroth-Smith added.
Nationally, 21.7 million people were married or in a civil partnership – making up 45% of those aged 16 and older. And 9.1% of the population were divorced or no longer in a civil partnership, up slightly from 9% a decade prior.