Photo: Andy F · CC BY 3.0Carbis Bay is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 53.3
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put Carbis Bay’s population at 3,967, in 1,786 households. On the census count, just over a fifth of households have dependent children. Few places have as many households in detached houses: 46% here, more than in 86% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Carbis Bay’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Carbis Bay’s residents are under 53.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 32% in Carbis Bay, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.5%, against 12% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Carbis Bay, 53.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Carbis Bay sits below 66% of UK towns for full-time students (4.5%)
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%.
In Carbis Bay, 30% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 23% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. This Cornwall town has more residents who moved in within the year than 87% of UK towns, at 11%. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.9% in Carbis Bay, more than in 74% of UK towns
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.
The figure for one-person households is 31% in Carbis Bay and 30% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
In Carbis Bay, 12% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 84% 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
17% of households live in a flat or apartment (England’s towns: 23%). Across Carbis Bay, 15% of households have no car or van. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%.
In Carbis Bay, 98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 59% 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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 18% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. The wider picture: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in Africa (1.2%). Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 52% of UK towns.
In Carbis Bay, 53% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 70% 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: 93% of Carbis Bay · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 93%, against 73% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Census figures put residents with no religion at 39% in Carbis Bay.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 81% of UK towns, at 28%
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
Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Carbis Bay has 50%. The benchmark for adults who have never married across England’s towns: 39%. The share of unpaid carers stands at 10%.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 30% of adults in Carbis Bay (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 16% (England’s towns: 18%).
530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people: this is the 49th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Carbis Bay in age: Darley Dale (53.1), Billinge (53.3), Dunnington (53.4) and South Petherton (53.5).
No nearby town is as old as Carbis Bay
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbis Bay | 3,967 | — | 53.3 | 32% | 21% |
| St Ives | 5,413 | 1.3 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 20% |
| Hayle | 9,040 | 2.6 mi | 45.7 | 24% | 26% |
| St Erth | 1,128 | 2.7 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Crowlas | 1,054 | 3.4 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Connor Downs | 1,482 | 4.5 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 30% |
| Marazion | 1,350 | 4.9 mi | 52 | 31% | 20% |
| Goldsithney | 1,346 | 5 mi | 47 | 26% | 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 Carbis Bay’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 Carbis Bay’s residents
What is the population of Carbis Bay?
The 2021 Census counted 3,967 people in Carbis Bay’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Carbis Bay?
The median age was 53.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 94% of UK towns. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Carbis Bay?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Carbis Bay?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Carbis Bay good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Carbis Bay’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.