Canon's Town’s story
2 listed buildings
Historic England lists them inside Canon's Town’s built-up area.
49% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Canon's TownCornwall
Some 547 people live in this village, in Cornwall, South West.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
547
Census 2021 · Cornwall council
Median home
£295K
24 sales in 3 years
Median age
53.3
28% are 65+ · Cornwall 24%
Degree level
32%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
11%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Canon's Town a good place to live?
Canon's Town has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real. Pre-1919 homes make up 49% of the housing. On the way to work, 11% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. 53% of households own their home with no mortgage.
What makes Canon's Town stand out
The 3 things Canon's Town does most differently from other towns.
Homes built before 1919
History
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
11% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
Own outright
Housing
53% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Canon's Town.
Work & commute
Under 5 km to work: 29% in Canon's Town, fewer than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
87% of commuters drove to work at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 1.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (3%) and England’s towns (2.3%). Also worth knowing: a household here earns £48K a year before tax, on average.
11%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving87%
On foot5%
Bus4%
Bicycle2%
Train1%
29%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
24%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£48K
mean household income, before tax
1.7%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Most households in Canon's Town own their home: 85%, more than in Cornwall’s towns or across England’s towns
13% rent privately, below Cornwall’s towns (20%) and England’s towns (21%) alike. Council and housing-body homes hold 2% of households. Private rents average £1,000 a month across the Cornwall council area.
£295Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Canon's Town£295K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £472,500 | 14 |
| Terraced | £74,000 | 9 |
85%
of households own their home · England 61%
13%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,000
average private rent a month, Cornwall council area
£2,436
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Violent crime runs low in Canon's Town: 14.6 per 1,000 residents a year, under Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns
Of all the crimes, 56% were violence and sexual offences. Homes see 4.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. The 12 months to August 2026 brought 16 recorded crimes inside Canon's Town’s built-up area, and 1 reports of anti-social behaviour. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 2.7 reports per 1,000, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8).
14.6violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual9
Other theft4
Public order2
Vehicle crime1
Shoplifting0
Damage & arson0
Burglary0
Drugs0
Anti-social1
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.
14.6
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
4.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
2.7
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
16
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
Health
In Canon's Town, 80% say their health is good or very good
Seeing a GP means leaving Canon's Town: the nearest practice is 2.6 miles away. At the census, 19% of people here had a disability, below Cornwall’s towns (22%) but above England’s towns (17%). The nearest A&E to Canon's Town is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 17.7 miles away.
80%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 80%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 5%
| Census 2021 | Canon's Town | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 80% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.5% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 22% | 17% |
81.3
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
84.3
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
History
Canon's Town keeps more of its old housing than Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 49% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Canon's Town has 2 listed buildings on Historic England’s list, all Grade II. Scaled to its population, that is 37 listed buildings for every 10,000 people in the town.
2listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II2
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
49%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
37
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Children make up only 10% of Canon's Town, fewer than in Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns
Over-65s are 28% of the population. The median resident of Canon's Town is 53.3 years old. Degrees are held by nearly a third of adults, above Cornwall’s towns (30%) but below England’s towns (34%).
53.3median age
Canon's TownCornwallEngland
Ages · share of residents
28%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar22%
Degree level32%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Canon's Town | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 10% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 16% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 35% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.8% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 22% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 32% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Trencrom Hill and 7 more in and around Canon's Town
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Canon's Town. Best known first.
Fort · National TrustTrencrom Hill1.1 km outside town, to the northwest
ZooParadise Park2.2 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumThe Leach Pottery4.8 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumSt Hilary Church, Cornwall4.1 km outside town, to the southeastArt galleryArt galleryCarnsew Art Gallery3 km outside town, to the northeastFortFortCastle an Dinas4.2 km outside town, to the westPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (4)
- Trencrom Hill: Crispin Purdye, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Paradise Park: Chris Allen, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- The Leach Pottery: Jordanhill School D&T Dept, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- St Hilary Church, Cornwall: Tony Atkin, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Canon's Town
13pages on Canon's Town
The big questions
Safety14.6 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £295K · rent £1,000 a monthHousing6 sold in 12 months · busiest street Heather LaneSchoolsHealthLife expectancy 81.3 (men), 84.3 (women)Work & commute45% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards1.3% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Canon's Town’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
St ErthCrowlasCarbis BayMarazionHayleGoldsithneySt IvesCanon's Town
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon's Town | 547 | — | — | — | — | — |
| St Erth | 1,128 | 1.3 | — | D− | C | C+ |
| Crowlas | 1,054 | 1.4 | — | D | A− | B− |
| Carbis Bay | 3,967 | 2.2 | C+ | D− | A− | B |
| Marazion | 1,350 | 2.7 | — | D− | C+ | C |
| Hayle | 9,040 | 2.8 | D− | D− | C− | C |
| Goldsithney | 1,346 | 2.8 | — | D− | B+ | C+ |
| St Ives | 5,413 | 3.4 | D− | D− | D | C |
St Erth, Crowlas, Marazion and Goldsithney have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Canon's Town
How many listed buildings are there in Canon's Town?
2 on Historic England’s list. That is 1.5 times the typical UK town for its size.
Who lives in Canon's Town?
At the 2021 Census, 11% of Canon's Town’s 547 residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over, against 12% and 18% across England’s towns.
Is Canon's Town expensive to live in?
Close to the typical UK town: the median sale over three years was £295,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £74,000 and detached houses £472,500. Private rents in the Cornwall council area averaged £1,000 a month in August 2026.
About Canon's Town
Village in Cornwall, England
Canon's Town is a built-up area of 547 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
- Population
- 547 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Cornwall
- County
- Cornwall
- Region
- South West
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
- ONS code
- E63007047
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.