Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
950 residents make their home in this village in Cornwall, South West.
With fewer than 1,000 residents, Hugh Town is too small for fair grades, though the figures on this page are real. Its listed buildings number 70, with 4 at Grade I. 62% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. People aged 65 and over make up 32% of residents.
The 3 things Hugh Town does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Hugh Town’s built-up area, along with 5 scheduled monuments.
42% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Hugh Town. Best known first.
CastleStar Castlein town
MuseumIsles of Scilly Museumin town
Fort · English HeritageHarry's Walls100 m outside town, to the northeast
Castle · English HeritageCromwell's Castle5 km outside town, to the northwest
GardenTresco Abbey Gardens2.9 km outside town, to the north
MuseumValhalla Museum2.8 km outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Hugh Town.
Children under 15 make up 13% of residents. People 65 and over make up nearly a third of the town, higher than both Cornwall’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Ages in Hugh Town split evenly at 53.5: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 36% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Hugh Town | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 20% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 32% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.1% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 36% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Key Stage 2 results at the one primary school within 3 km: just over half of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town has one school, shown below. 243 pupils attend Hugh Town’s one secondary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Five Islands AcademyLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 243 | B |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Households had £42K a year before tax, below Cornwall’s towns (£45K) and England’s towns (£55K) alike. 1.9% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. About 51% of its commuters stay in Hugh Town for work. The town counts 1.4 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds nearly a fifth of households. 54% of households own their home, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). Renting privately is how 26% of households live.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £601,250 | 10 |
| Terraced | £517,500 | 11 |
| Flat or maisonette | £262,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Homes see 10.3 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Reported offences in Hugh Town came to 66 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 4. 56% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (22%) and England’s towns (17%). One GP practice serves the town; 89% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 4% of the town.
| Census 2021 | Hugh Town | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 83% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 15% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Before 1919: that is when 42% of homes were built. Hugh Town’s listed buildings include Bastions and Walls of Star Castle, Grade I. Of the town’s land, 99% lies in conservation areas, above Cornwall’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. At the top of the list, 4 are Grade I and 4 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
That is 30.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Bastions and Walls of Star Castle. It also has 5 scheduled monuments.
By type: flats £262,000, terraced houses £517,500 and detached houses £601,250. Private rents in the Isles of Scilly council area averaged £1,000 a month in August 2026.
Village in Cornwall, England
Hugh Town is a built-up area of 950 people, in the Isles of Scilly 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
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.
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.