Exeter () is a cathedral city in Devon, England with a population of . It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently, the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district and is therefore under the administration of the County Council (there was a plan to grant the city unitary authority status, although this was scrapped under the 2010 coalition government). The city is on the River Exe about northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol.