Photo: Tony Atkin · CC BY-SA 2.0

55.1Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Older than 97% of UK towns: half of Downderry is over 55.1

18% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. One-person households are more common here than in 92% of UK towns. Downderry’s 398 households held 829 residents at the 2021 Census. The share of households in detached houses stands at 52%.

33%aged 65 or over 8%born abroad 398households

Ages

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns: 5.9%

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

DownderryEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Downderry has 33%. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1513%

15 to 245.9%

25 to 4416%

45 to 6433%

65 and over33%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

54% women, 46% men

Downderry

England

WomenMen

About 85 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.

Students & newcomers

Downderry ranks below 98% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.2%

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

Full-time students3.2%

Higher managerial and professional18%

Lower managerial and professional30%

Intermediate10%

Small employers and self-employed18%

Supervisory and technical3.1%

Semi-routine6.9%

Routine5.7%

Never worked or long-term unemployed4.6%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Downderry

15%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

120

residents, 15%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.8× England’s share

Residents who moved in within the year: 15% here and 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.

Households

Downderry households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 94% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 19%Living alone, under 66 17%Families with dependent children 18%Couples and families, no young children 42%Shared houses and other 3.8%

Against Cornwall’s towns and England’s towns

Downderry

Cornwall’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person36%

2 people40%

3 people9.6%

4 people9.9%

5 or more4.3%

England’s towns.

Little separates the share of shared households of unrelated adults here, 3.8%, from the figure across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

Only 11% of households live in a terraced house in Downderry

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Downderry

Cornwall’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van12%

One43%

Two31%

Three or more14%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Downderry comes in at 15%. On the census count, 12% of households have no car or van. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.

Where people were born

99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 76% of UK towns don’t reach

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%

Downderry

Cornwall’s towns

5.5%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.4%

Another main language, little or no English0%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

The figure for residents born outside the UK is 8% in Downderry and 18% across England’s towns. For comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.8%).

Ethnicity & religion

45% of residents said they have no religion, a share 75% of UK towns don’t reach

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

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White5%

Asian0.8%

Mixed1.6%

Black1.5%

Other1.8%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 89% of Downderry · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion45%

Christian46%

Muslim0.7%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.6%

Other religion1%

Didn’t answer6.4%

0%30%60%

73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns, against 89% in Downderry. By way of comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (5%), Mixed or multiple (1.6%) and Arab (0.7%). On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Downderry sits lower than 71% of UK towns: 46%.

Relationships & caring

Fewer adults who have never married than 93% of UK towns: 25%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership25%

Married or civil partnership54%

Separated1.7%

Divorced11%

Widowed7.9%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

81residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 10%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.3%

20 to 49 hours1.8%

50 hours or more3.1%

The share of married adults and civil partners is 54%, against 44% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers account for 10%.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications: held by 48% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications9.8%

Apprenticeship4.8%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level48%

DownderryCornwall’s townsEngland’s towns

Against 34% across England’s towns, 48% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 9.8% hold no qualification (18%).

Neighbours

A younger town than 2 of the 7 around it: Downderry

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

LooeLandrakeMillbrookSaltashTorpointPelyntLiskeardDownderry

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Downderry	829	—	55.1	33%	18%
Looe	5,314	3.9 mi	55.6	34%	17%
Landrake	1,104	5.4 mi	47.9	23%	25%
Millbrook	2,299	6.7 mi	51.5	30%	22%
Saltash	15,433	7 mi	48	26%	26%
Torpoint	7,163	7.1 mi	48.6	25%	22%
Pelynt	1,144	7.3 mi	55.9	36%	20%
Liskeard	10,901	7.7 mi	44.1	23%	26%

More about Downderry’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Downderry’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 Downderry’s residents

What is the population of Downderry?

The 2021 Census counted 829 people in Downderry’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Downderry?

The median age was 55.1 at the 2021 Census. 5.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Downderry?

89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Downderry?

45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.

Is Downderry good for families?

18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Downderry’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.