Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Downgate is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 58.9
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Downgate comes in at 17%. At the 2021 Census, 312 people lived here, in 139 households. Households with dependent children: 18% of the total. Compared with other places, households in flats are scarce here: 2.1%, fewer than in 97% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 37%, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 15 to 24 (7.1%), Downgate is below 99% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In Downgate, 3.2% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 98% of UK towns
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%.
42% of Downgate’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 6.8% here. Across the comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Downgate households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 79% 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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, about the same as across England’s towns.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns, at 4.3%
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
11% of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. The share of households in detached houses stands at 69%.
Downgate sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (100%)
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
Set against 18% across England’s towns, 6.7% of residents were born outside the UK in Downgate. To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.8%) and in Africa (1%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 57% in Downgate, more than in 88% 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: 94% of Downgate · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, 36% of residents said they have no religion in Downgate. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46% across England’s towns, for comparison. In Downgate, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Married adults and civil partners make up 65% in Downgate, more than in 99% of UK towns
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
12% of residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. At 21%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 99% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Downgate, 14%, while 41% hold one at degree level (34%).
No nearby town is as old as Downgate
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Downgate | 312 | — | 58.9 | 37% | 18% |
| Kelly Bray | 1,137 | 1 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Callington | 4,665 | 2.1 mi | 50 | 26% | 21% |
| Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel | 3,506 | 3.8 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
| Pensilva | 1,656 | 5 mi | 52.5 | 29% | 20% |
| Bere Alston | 2,259 | 6.3 mi | 52.6 | 31% | 20% |
| Withnoe | 1,820 | 6.8 mi | 36.6 | 14% | 36% |
| Tavistock | 12,676 | 7.2 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 22% |
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 Downgate’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 Downgate’s residents
What is the population of Downgate?
The 2021 Census counted 312 people in Downgate’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Downgate?
The median age was 58.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Downgate?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Downgate?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Downgate good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Downgate’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.