Photo: John Bennett · CC BY 3.0More terraced houses than 88% of UK towns: 33% of households
The figure for unpaid carers is 11% in Hayle and 8.7% across England’s towns. 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 69% of UK towns. This Cornwall town had 9,040 residents and 3,944 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 45.7 (older than nearly three fifths of UK towns). Here, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Hayle’s people
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 43% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Since 2011, Hayle has grown +15%, faster than 76% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Hayle’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 7,900 people in 2011; 9,100 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2020 to mid-2021: 190. Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+22%) and 0 to 15 least (+9%).
A median age of 45.7: Hayle is older than 59% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
In Hayle, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across England’s towns. The largest age band is 70–74: 7.1% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hayle, 45.7. 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.
Full-time students: 5.1%, a higher share than 61% 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%.
In Hayle, 9.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, beside 11% across England’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A smaller share of households with dependent children than 60% of UK towns: 26%
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.
31% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Hayle has more shared households of unrelated adults than 85% of UK towns, at 3.4%. The share of households with dependent children across England’s towns is 29%. Each household has 2.3 people on average.
18% of households have no car or van, more than in 62% 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
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 12% of households live in a flat or apartment in Hayle. Households without a car or van: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison. For Hayle, the census puts households in detached houses at 27%.
Fewer residents born abroad than 76% of UK towns: 4.1%
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
Just over a tenth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Here, 98% of residents have English as their main language.
48% of residents said they have no religion, a share 88% 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
White British, not charted: 94% of Hayle · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (3.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Bangladeshi (0.1%). 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns. For comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
34% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 63% 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
Some 298 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Adults who have never married make up 39% across England’s towns. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 43% here, fewer than in 78% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 26% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Hayle, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
Among 482 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people, the 189th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Hayle in age: Cranleigh (45.6), Prudhoe (45.7), Blandford Forum (45.8) and Pocklington (45.9).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Hayle
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hayle | 9,040 | — | 45.7 | 24% | 26% |
| St Erth | 1,128 | 1.8 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Connor Downs | 1,482 | 2.1 mi | 46.6 | 26% | 30% |
| Reawla | 1,117 | 2.5 mi | 45.1 | 20% | 28% |
| Carbis Bay | 3,967 | 2.6 mi | 53.3 | 32% | 21% |
| St Ives | 5,413 | 3.7 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 20% |
| Crowlas | 1,054 | 4.2 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Goldsithney | 1,346 | 4.5 mi | 47 | 26% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Hayle’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Hayle’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,763 people in 2021, against 9,040 in the built-up area.
- 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 Hayle’s residents
What is the population of Hayle?
The 2021 Census counted 9,040 people in Hayle’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,100 people in mid-2024, 15% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Hayle?
The median age was 45.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 59% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hayle?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hayle?
48% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Hayle good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Hayle’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.