Photo: Matnkat · CC BY 3.0Half of Lostwithiel is over 51.6, older than 91% of UK towns
Just over a fifth of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 28%. Residents with no religion are more common here than in 76% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 3,067 residents in 1,411 households.
What the Census says about Lostwithiel’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Lostwithiel’s residents are under 51.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
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.
Lostwithiel grew +12% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 68% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Lostwithiel’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,000 people in 2011; 3,400 in 2024.
Mid-2020 to mid-2021 brought the biggest yearly rise, 70 people. The 65 and over age group changed most (+28%) and the 16 to 29 least (+1%).
Fewer young people than 94% of UK towns: 7.8% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 29% here and 18% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lostwithiel, 51.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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 lower share of full-time students than 93% of UK towns, at 3.6%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 35% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 22% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 11%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Smaller households than 87% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 2.8%, Lostwithiel is ahead of 69% of UK towns on that count. A third of households are one person living alone, a higher share than in 75% of UK towns.
Only 11% of households have no car or van in Lostwithiel
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
With households in flats at 14%, Lostwithiel is ahead of 67% of UK towns on that count. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 33%, more than in 61% of UK towns. For comparison, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 90% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Lostwithiel comes in at 4.6%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%).
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 70% 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 Lostwithiel · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
48% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.2%).
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 71% 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
85 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Lostwithiel sits lower than 54% of UK towns: 47%. There is little gap on unpaid carers: 9.5%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Among adults, 38% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
38% of Lostwithiel’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
Of 514 UK towns its size (2,500 to 4,000 people), the 78th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); West Chiltington the oldest (63.1). Nearest to Lostwithiel in age: Cherry Willingham (51.6), Bottesford (51.6), Endon (51.8) and Pewsey (51.8).
3 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Lostwithiel
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lostwithiel | 3,067 | — | 51.6 | 29% | 21% |
| Tywardreath | 2,589 | 3.7 mi | 55.7 | 35% | 20% |
| St Blazey | 6,569 | 4.5 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 29% |
| Bodmin | 16,904 | 4.8 mi | 41.3 | 20% | 28% |
| Fowey | 2,027 | 5 mi | 55 | 33% | 20% |
| Penwithick | 1,706 | 5.3 mi | 36.7 | 16% | 39% |
| Bugle | 2,430 | 5.4 mi | 38.4 | 16% | 30% |
| Carlyon Bay | 1,174 | 5.9 mi | 62.8 | 47% | 16% |
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 Lostwithiel’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. Lostwithiel’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,301 people in 2021, against 3,067 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 Lostwithiel’s residents
What is the population of Lostwithiel?
The 2021 Census counted 3,067 people in Lostwithiel’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,400 people in mid-2024, 12% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Lostwithiel?
The median age was 51.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 91% of UK towns. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lostwithiel?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lostwithiel?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Lostwithiel good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Lostwithiel’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.