Photo: Rod Allday · CC BY-SA 2.0Mawnan Smith is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 57.7
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 5% of households live in a terraced house here. Locally, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. On households in detached houses, Mawnan Smith sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 70%. The village is home to 1,001 residents in 459 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Mawnan Smith’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Mawnan Smith’s residents are under 57.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 39% 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).
Mawnan Smith sits above 99% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (39%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 11% of residents, 2.3 times the share across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 7.4%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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 larger share of full-time students than 65% of UK towns: 5.2%
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%.
43% of Mawnan Smith’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 15% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Set beside that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Mawnan Smith households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 83% 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.
On shared households of unrelated adults, Mawnan Smith sits higher than 53% of UK towns: 2.4%. Here, 30% of households are one person living alone.
In Mawnan Smith, 6.9% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 95% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%; Mawnan Smith has 8.5%. In one household in 14 there is no car or van.
In Mawnan Smith, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 92% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.2%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.2%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%. Fewer residents born outside the UK than in 62% of UK towns: 5.2%.
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 66% 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: 94% of Mawnan Smith · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, Mawnan Smith has 39%. Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 52% of the total.
Mawnan Smith sits below 98% of UK towns for adults who have never married (22%)
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
Where 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, Mawnan Smith has 56%. By way of comparison, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care.
Degree-level qualifications: 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
13% of Mawnan Smith’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 40% have one at degree level (34%).
Median age: 1 of the 7 towns around Mawnan Smith 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mawnan Smith | 1,001 | — | 57.7 | 39% | 23% |
| Falmouth | 24,066 | 2.8 mi | 38.6 | 21% | 21% |
| Penryn | 11,194 | 3.8 mi | 30.3 | 15% | 24% |
| Mylor Bridge | 1,534 | 5 mi | 61.1 | 44% | 15% |
| Stithians | 1,613 | 5.8 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 29% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 6.6 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Helston | 11,366 | 7.1 mi | 41.8 | 21% | 30% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 7.2 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
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 Mawnan Smith’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 Mawnan Smith’s residents
What is the population of Mawnan Smith?
The 2021 Census counted 1,001 people in Mawnan Smith’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Mawnan Smith?
The median age was 57.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Mawnan Smith?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Mawnan Smith?
39% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is Mawnan Smith good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Mawnan Smith’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.