Falmouth grades C overall against UK towns: better than 34% of UK towns, and #8 of 35 in Cornwall. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 29% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £335,000, 7.3 years of area income; rent £1,000 a month.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Falmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Falmouth.
Who lives here
A young town: 22% of people in Falmouth are 15 to 24, more than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns
That puts Falmouth above both Cornwall’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Over-65s are 21% of the population. Half the people of Falmouth are older than 38.6.
38.6median age
FalmouthCornwallEngland
Ages · share of residents
22%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications12%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar25%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Much of Falmouth is a conservation area: 22% of its land, more than Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
In the comparison, Falmouth comes above both Cornwall’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%). Falmouth has 209 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 0 Grade I, 12 Grade II*. Falmouth has 87 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage hit Falmouth harder than Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 12.5 per 1,000 residents a year
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
For Falmouth, that is above both Cornwall’s towns (7.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 1,753 crimes inside Falmouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 290 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violent crime runs at 29.4 per 1,000 residents a year.
29.4violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearCSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 56% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: about the middle for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual776
Shoplifting288
Damage & arson190
Other theft142
Vehicle crime106
Public order105
Drugs41
Burglary33
Anti-social290
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.
29.4
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.5
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
82% of residents say their health is good or very good
82% of Falmouth’s residents described their health as good or very good in 2021, against 79% across Cornwall’s towns. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
Mylor Bridge, Mawnan Smith, Perranarworthal, Carnon Downs and Devoran, Stithians and Lanner have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Falmouth
How many listed buildings are there in Falmouth?
That is 3.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
How much is council tax in Falmouth?
Band D council tax in Falmouth is £2,873 for 2026–27, more than in almost all of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Is Falmouth safe?
About the middle for its size: 44% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C. Police recorded 1,753 crimes inside Falmouth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 44% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
About Falmouth
Large town in Cornwall, England
Falmouth is a built-up area of 24,066 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
24,066 (Census 2021)
Council
Cornwall
County
Cornwall
Region
South West
Area
2.5 sq mi (6.4 km²)
ONS code
E63007057
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.
