Photo: Tim Walker from United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0Bodmin: 46% of residents said they have no religion, above 82% of UK towns
The median age in Bodmin is 41.3, lower than in 73% of UK towns. The town is home to 16,904 residents in 7,258 households, by the 2021 Census. Locally, 27% of households live in a terraced house. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
What the Census says about Bodmin’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Bodmin at 14,800 in 2011 and 17,600 in 2024, up 19%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 83% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A +19% change since 2011: faster than 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bodmin’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 14,800 people in 2011; 17,600 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +29% for the 65 and over to +8% for the 16 to 29. The steepest year was mid-2020 to mid-2021, up 400 people.
Bodmin ranks above 71% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 10%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Bodmin, a fifth of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns. 25–29 is the most common age band: 7% of residents. To put it in context, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bodmin, 41.3. The typical town is 44.4.
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 83% of UK towns, at 11%
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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Bodmin has 23% and 34%. Full-time students account for 4.8%.
Above 92% of UK towns: 4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home
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.
Households average 2.3 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Higher than in 60% of UK towns: 28% of households have dependent children. As a reference point, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. One-person households: 31% of the total.
More households in flats than 75% of UK towns: 16%
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
21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 27% in Bodmin. Across England’s towns, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment. Households without a car or van account for 19%.
Residents whose main language is English make up 95% in Bodmin, less than in 78% of UK towns
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (5.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). On residents born outside the UK, Bodmin sits higher than 62% of UK towns: 7.7%. The usual figure: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. 17% of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 21% across England’s towns.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 60% of UK towns: 91%
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: 91% of Bodmin · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (6.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.2%). Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 73% of UK towns: 46%.
Above 79% of UK towns: 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
Unpaid carers make up one in ten residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married make up 39% across England’s towns. 543 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 23%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Bodmin, 23%, and 20% have none, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 83rd youngest of 336 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Bodmin in age: Keynsham (41.3), Farncombe (41.3), Rhosllannerchrugog (41.5) and Failsworth (41.6).
Bodmin sits below 5 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bodmin | 16,904 | — | 41.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Lostwithiel | 3,067 | 4.8 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 21% |
| Egloshayle | 1,185 | 5.5 mi | 45 | 25% | 30% |
| Bugle | 2,430 | 5.7 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 30% |
| Wadebridge | 5,626 | 5.9 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 21% |
| Roche | 2,311 | 6.4 mi | 43 | 21% | 28% |
| Penwithick | 1,706 | 7.1 mi | 36.7 | 16% | 39% |
| Tywardreath | 2,589 | 7.8 mi | 55.7 | 35% | 20% |
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 Bodmin’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Bodmin’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,904 people in 2021, against 16,904 in the built-up area.
- 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 Bodmin’s residents
What is the population of Bodmin?
The 2021 Census counted 16,904 people in Bodmin’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,600 people in mid-2024, 19% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bodmin?
The median age was 41.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bodmin?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 7.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bodmin?
46% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Bodmin good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bodmin’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.