Photo: Nigel Thompson · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 96% of UK towns: half of Lizard is over 54.3
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. On households in flats, Lizard sits lower than 90% of UK towns: 3.5%. At the 2021 Census, 1,046 people lived in the village, in 487 households. In Lizard, 47% of households live in a detached house.
What the Census says about Lizard’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Lizard’s residents are under 54.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 33% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
128 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 13% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 95% of UK towns: 33%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 88% of UK towns: 8.3%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
A smaller share of residents who moved in within the year than 68% of UK towns: 7.9%
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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Lizard, 31% and 19%. 4.7% of adults are full-time students. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across England’s towns is 11%.
Fewer families than 96% of UK towns: 19% of households have children
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.
The typical household size is 2.2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 35% in Lizard. Typically, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 58% of UK towns, at 22%
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
14% of households have no car or van (England’s towns: 24%).
Residents born outside the UK: 3.2%, a lower share than 89% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
99% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.6%) and in Africa (0.8%). As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 87% 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: 96% of Lizard · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.3%) and Indian (0.2%). On average, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. 45% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 78% of UK towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 46%, near enough the figure across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 13% of residents
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
Adults who have never married: 30% here and 39% across England’s towns. On the census count, 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 30% 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 Lizard, 15%, while 30% hold one at degree level (34%).
Median age: 1 of the 4 towns around Lizard are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lizard | 1,046 | — | 54.3 | 33% | 19% |
| Mullion | 2,148 | 4.3 mi | 52.6 | 34% | 25% |
| Porthleven | 3,118 | 9.4 mi | 51.3 | 29% | 22% |
| Helston | 11,366 | 9.7 mi | 41.8 | 21% | 30% |
| Mawnan Smith | 1,001 | 10.9 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 Lizard’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 Lizard’s residents
What is the population of Lizard?
The 2021 Census counted 1,046 people in Lizard’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Lizard?
The median age was 54.3 at the 2021 Census. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lizard?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lizard?
45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is Lizard good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lizard’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.