Photo: Derek Voller · CC BY-SA 2.045% of residents said they have no religion, a share 78% of UK towns don’t reach
The median age in Helston is 41.8, lower than in 70% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 11,366, in 4,911 households. In Helston, 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Where nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns, Helston has 14%.
Helston changed by +5% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 63% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Helston’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 11,700 people in 2011; 12,300 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group moved most (+33%); the 16 to 29 group moved least (−9%). Mid-2014 to mid-2015 brought the biggest yearly rise, 160 people.
Only 21% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 58% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7% of residents. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 55% of UK towns: 9.9%. In Tywardreath, the oldest of Cornwall’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Helston, 41.8. 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.
Helston ranks above 57% of UK towns on full-time students: 5%
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%.
By class, 31% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 28% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). At 9.3%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is higher than in 62% of UK towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2% in Helston, less than in 68% 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.
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 30% in Helston. Households average 2.3 people. One-person households are more common here than in just over half of UK towns. As a reference point, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
More detached houses than 61% of UK towns: 33% of households
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 14% of households have no car or van here. By way of comparison, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses account for 23%.
In Helston, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 85% of UK towns
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. Residents whose main language is English make up 90% across England’s towns. For Helston, the census puts residents born outside the UK at 4.3%.
In Helston, 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 77% 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: 95% of Helston · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Helston, 47% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 46% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.2%).
50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 66% 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
Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, about the same as across England’s towns. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 31% 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 Helston, 15%, while 31% hold one at degree level (34%).
106th youngest of 397 UK towns of 8,000 to 15,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Helston in age: Buckhurst Hill (41.8), Wantage (41.8), Tonyrefail (41.8) and Uttoxeter (41.9).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 6 are older than Helston
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helston | 11,366 | — | 41.8 | 21% | 30% |
| Porthleven | 3,118 | 2.3 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 22% |
| Mullion | 2,148 | 5.5 mi | 52.6 | 34% | 25% |
| Troon | 1,402 | 6.4 mi | 46.5 | 24% | 27% |
| Reawla | 1,117 | 6.6 mi | 45.1 | 20% | 28% |
| Four Lanes | 1,579 | 6.9 mi | 41 | 19% | 31% |
| Stithians | 1,613 | 7.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 29% |
| Mawnan Smith | 1,001 | 7.1 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 23% |
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 Helston’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. Helston’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 12,176 people in 2021, against 11,366 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 Helston’s residents
What is the population of Helston?
The 2021 Census counted 11,366 people in Helston’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 12,300 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Helston?
The median age was 41.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Helston?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Helston?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Helston good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Helston’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.