Photo: Tony Atkin · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Carlyon Bay is over 62.8
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 78% of households live in a detached house in Carlyon Bay. 1,174 residents in 577 households: that is Carlyon Bay at the 2021 Census. For Carlyon Bay, the census puts residents with no religion at 31%. On households without a car or van, Carlyon Bay sits lower than 92% of UK towns: 8%.
What the Census says about Carlyon Bay’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Carlyon Bay’s residents are under 62.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 47% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
130 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 91% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Above 99% of UK towns: 47% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
6.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 98% of UK towns: 3.1%
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%.
Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier; across England’s towns the figure is 11%. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
In Carlyon Bay, 16% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 99% 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.
Households in Carlyon Bay hold 2.1 people on average (England’s towns: 2.4). Still, 31% of households are one person living alone, more than in 62% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. On the census count, 2.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
A smaller share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns: 0.5%
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
In Carlyon Bay, 13% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 95% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.1%). At 4.7%, the share of residents born outside the UK is lower than in just over two thirds of UK towns. Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 95% of UK towns: 61%
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 Carlyon Bay · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 73% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 18%
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
Just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 61%, more than in 99% of UK towns. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 36% of adults in Carlyon Bay (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 16% (England’s towns: 18%).
Carlyon Bay is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carlyon Bay | 1,174 | — | 62.8 | 47% | 16% |
| St Austell | 24,361 | 1.4 mi | 45 | 23% | 26% |
| St Blazey | 6,569 | 1.5 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 29% |
| Tywardreath | 2,589 | 2.6 mi | 55.7 | 35% | 20% |
| Penwithick | 1,706 | 2.8 mi | 36.7 | 16% | 39% |
| Trewoon | 1,246 | 3.3 mi | 47 | 24% | 26% |
| Polgooth | 1,096 | 3.5 mi | 57.2 | 38% | 19% |
| Fowey | 2,027 | 4.6 mi | 55 | 33% | 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 Carlyon 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 Carlyon Bay’s residents
What is the population of Carlyon Bay?
The 2021 Census counted 1,174 people in Carlyon Bay’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Carlyon Bay?
The median age was 62.8 at the 2021 Census. 6.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 47% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Carlyon Bay?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Carlyon Bay?
31% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.7% didn’t answer.
Is Carlyon Bay good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Carlyon 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.