St Agnes, #1 on this list · Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0

Cornwall · 2026

Best places to live in Cornwall

Q: What is the best place to live in Cornwall?

St Agnes ranks first of 35 graded towns of 2,500+: schools (A+) and walkability (B+) are its strongest grades; cost of living (D−) is its lowest. Threemilestone and Probus follow.

St Agnes ranks first of 35 Cornwall towns of 2,500+ residents, and #727 of 2,138 UK towns. None grade A− or better; scores run from 54.3 down to 18.6.

The overall score, sorted within Cornwall; the letter compares each town with every UK town, and its rank among UK towns sits beside it. How grades work

St Agnes

Cornwall · 3,253 people

B⁺

Score 54.3·#727 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: schools A⁺, walkability B⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

Threemilestone

Cornwall · 2,854 people

Score 52.2·#814 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: walkability A, hazard risk A·lowest: cost of living D⁻

Probus

Cornwall · 2,565 people

B⁻

Score 48.0·#1,009 of 2,138 UK towns

Strongest: safety A⁻, health B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

All 35 towns, ranked

By overall score against UK towns; ranks are within Cornwall, and each UK rank links to the national list. The score (0–100) blends the seven livability grades and sets the order; the letter places that score among UK towns of 2,500+, and A+ is the top 5%, so neighbours on the list often share a letter.

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35 towns.

#TownScoreGrade · UK rankWhat drives it

1St Agnes3,253 people54.3top 34.5%B⁺#727 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁺, walkability B⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

2Threemilestone2,854 people52.2top 38.5%B#814 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, hazard risk A·lowest: cost of living D⁻

3Probus2,565 people48.0top 47.6%B⁻#1,009 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety A⁻, health B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

4Penryn11,194 people43.1bottom 40.5%C⁺#1,265 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, schools B·lowest: cost of living D

5Carbis Bay3,967 people42.0bottom 38.0%C⁺#1,320 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, safety A⁻·lowest: cost of living D⁻

6Lostwithiel3,067 people40.9bottom 35.5%C⁺#1,374 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools A, walkability B⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

7Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel3,506 people40.2bottom 34.4%C#1,397 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: hazard risk A, safety B·lowest: cost of living D

8Falmouth24,066 people40.0bottom 33.7%C#1,410 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, schools B⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

9Tywardreath2,589 people36.1bottom 23.6%C⁻#1,629 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety B, health B⁻·lowest: hazard risk D⁻

10Saltash15,433 people35.5bottom 22.0%C⁻#1,662 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, hazard risk B⁻·lowest: cost of living D

11Torpoint7,163 people34.5bottom 19.4%C⁻#1,719 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, schools B⁻·lowest: cost of living C⁻

12Perranporth2,752 people33.7bottom 17.7%C⁻#1,756 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools A⁻, walkability A⁻·lowest: cost of living D⁻

13Wadebridge5,626 people32.4bottom 14.8%D#1,819 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, health B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

14Helston11,366 people32.3bottom 14.7%D#1,821 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, health B⁻·lowest: cost of living D

15Truro23,060 people32.2bottom 14.1%D#1,833 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, schools B⁻·lowest: cost of living D⁻

16Porthleven3,118 people31.4bottom 13.0%D#1,858 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B, safety B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

17St Columb Major3,663 people31.4bottom 12.9%D#1,859 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools B, walkability B·lowest: jobs & income D

18Newquay24,543 people31.2bottom 12.8%D#1,862 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, schools B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

19Callington4,665 people29.2bottom 9.4%D#1,935 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, schools B·lowest: cost of living D⁻

20St Blazey6,569 people29.0bottom 9.0%D#1,943 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools B, walkability C·lowest: hazard risk D⁻

21Newlyn3,362 people28.6bottom 8.2%D#1,961 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, safety C⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

22Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road3,888 people28.0bottom 7.4%D#1,979 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: safety B, walkability B⁻·lowest: schools D⁻

23Camelford2,983 people26.5bottom 5.4%D#2,021 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B, health B⁻·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

24Launceston8,431 people26.0bottom 4.9%D⁻#2,033 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, schools B⁻·lowest: jobs & income D

25St Austell24,361 people25.9bottom 4.8%D⁻#2,035 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B, schools B⁻·lowest: cost of living D

26Camborne20,445 people25.6bottom 4.5%D⁻#2,041 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, schools B·lowest: safety D

27Looe5,314 people25.4bottom 4.2%D⁻#2,047 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, health C⁺·lowest: cost of living D

28Pool and Illogan8,588 people25.1bottom 4.0%D⁻#2,051 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: schools B, walkability B⁻·lowest: cost of living D

29Bodmin16,904 people24.0bottom 3.4%D⁻#2,064 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B, schools B·lowest: safety D

30Bude7,347 people23.5bottom 3.0%D⁻#2,074 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A, health C⁺·lowest: cost of living D⁻

31St Ives5,413 people23.5bottom 2.9%D⁻#2,076 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, health C·lowest: cost of living D⁻

32Redruth15,455 people23.1bottom 2.6%D⁻#2,082 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability B⁺, schools C⁺·lowest: cost of living D

33Hayle9,040 people21.4bottom 1.3%D⁻#2,109 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, health C·lowest: cost of living D⁻

34Liskeard10,901 people21.2bottom 1.2%D⁻#2,113 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁻, hazard risk B·lowest: safety D

35Penzance14,957 people18.6bottom 0.5%D⁻#2,128 of 2,138 nationallyStrongest: walkability A⁺, schools C⁻·lowest: jobs & income D⁻

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the best place to live in Cornwall?

St Agnes ranks first of 35 graded towns of 2,500+: schools (A+) and walkability (B+) are its strongest grades; cost of living (D−) is its lowest. Threemilestone and Probus follow.

How are these towns ranked?

By the overall grade, which blends seven livability grades (cost of living, safety, schools, health, jobs & income, walkability, hazard risk) from public data, each comparing a town with every UK town. The rank is within Cornwall. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

The list covers places of 2,500+ residents with an overall grade. Smaller places, and towns missing figures the overall grade needs, show their subject grades on their own pages; every town in Cornwall is listed on the county page.

Sources: TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.