Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 706 in Cornwall, South West.
Boscastle has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
The 3 things Boscastle does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 83 buildings inside Boscastle’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*, and 2 scheduled monuments.
38% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1930.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Boscastle. Best known first.
MuseumMuseum of Witchcraft and Magicin town
Castle · English HeritageTintagel Castle4.2 km outside town, to the west
Museum · National TrustTintagel Old Post Office3.9 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumKing Arthur's Great Halls3.8 km outside town, to the southwestHistoric siteHistoric siteLabyrinth Petroglyphs2 km outside town, to the southwestMuseumMuseumMuseum of Cycling4.7 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Boscastle.
People 65 and over make up just over a third of the town, above both Cornwall’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). 7.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Typical age in Boscastle: 57.4, the median.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
| Boscastle | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.5% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 7.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 35% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 34% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.9% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 31% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
There is one school here; it is shown below. Its one primary school teaches 60 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Boscastle Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 60 | C |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Nearly a fifth of commuters left the car at home at the census, walking, cycling or taking public transport. Households had £41K a year before tax, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (£45K) and England’s towns (£55K). About 23% of its commuters stay in Boscastle for work. The town counts 0.8 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
17% of households are private tenants. Social housing holds one in ten households, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). Private rents average £1,000 a month across the Cornwall council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £427,975 | 20 |
| Semi-detached | £345,000 | 7 |
| Terraced | £250,000 | 17 |
| Flat or maisonette | £150,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 34 offences were reported in Boscastle, along with 4 incidents of anti-social behaviour. 56% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences. Violent crime runs at 20.1 per 1,000 residents a year.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
One GP practice serves the town; 88% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. At the census, 18% of people here had a disability, below Cornwall’s towns (22%) but above England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, nearly four in five residents of Boscastle said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Boscastle | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.2% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 18% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
38% of homes were built before 1919. Historic England’s list names 83 listed buildings in Boscastle: 1 Grade II*. Conservation areas cover just over three fifths of the town’s land, above Cornwall’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 34% of residents were 65 or over and 35% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 9.5% were under 15.
That is 48.2 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Band D council tax in Boscastle is £2,489 for 2026–27, more than in 61% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Cornwall, England
Boscastle is a built-up area of 706 people, in the Cornwall council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · 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.