Photo: Alan Walker · CC BY-SA 2.0Blackwater sits above 96% of UK towns for residents with no religion (52%)
The figure for households in flats is 3.9% in Blackwater and 23% across England’s towns. The village is home to 796 residents in 333 households, by the 2021 Census. Nearly one in ten households have no car or van. Lower than in just over three quarters of UK towns: 27% of households are one person living alone.
In Blackwater, 8.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 22%, against 18% across England’s towns. Against that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The median age in Blackwater is 44.1, lower than in 53% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of residents who moved in within the year than 92% of UK towns, at 12%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Blackwater has 31% and 23%. Census figures put full-time students at 4.8% here. As a reference point, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Blackwater sits above 81% of UK towns for households with dependent children (31%)
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 2.4 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 5.1%.
Households in detached houses make up 52% in Blackwater, more than in 91% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
The figure for households in terraced houses is 19% in Blackwater and 24% across England’s towns. As a reference point, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 93% of UK towns, at 99%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 25%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
4% of residents were born outside the UK; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. Residents whose main language is English: 90% across England’s towns, for comparison. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.9%) and in Africa (0.9%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 42%, a lower share than 89% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 96% of Blackwater · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, Blackwater has 96%. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 65% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
The figure for unpaid carers is 10% in Blackwater and 8.7% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here, a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 34% of Blackwater’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have no qualification (18%).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Blackwater
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackwater | 796 | — | 44.1 | 22% | 31% |
| Mount Hawke | 1,593 | 1.4 mi | 47.5 | 25% | 22% |
| St Day | 1,432 | 2.2 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 23% |
| Carharrack | 1,525 | 2.8 mi | 47.2 | 25% | 25% |
| St Agnes | 3,253 | 2.8 mi | 45.9 | 25% | 27% |
| Threemilestone | 2,854 | 3.1 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 24% |
| Redruth | 15,455 | 3.2 mi | 42.2 | 20% | 27% |
| Lanner | 2,164 | 3.8 mi | 46.8 | 22% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Cornwall’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cornwall (or England), summed the same way as Blackwater’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Blackwater’s residents
What is the population of Blackwater?
The 2021 Census counted 796 people in Blackwater’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Blackwater?
The median age was 44.1 at the 2021 Census. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blackwater?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blackwater?
52% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Blackwater good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Blackwater’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067). 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.