Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 2,351 in Cornwall, South West.
Padstow has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 37% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £400,000, 8.7 years of area income; rent £1,000 a month.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Padstow does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Padstow is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 132 buildings inside Padstow’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade I, and 2 scheduled monuments.
24% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1889.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Padstow.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Padstow below both Cornwall’s towns (78%) and England’s towns (70%). 48% of commuters travelled under 5 km to work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Padstow SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 157 | B− |
On this, Padstow is above both Cornwall’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (18%). 12% of households rent privately.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £775,000 | 27 |
| Semi-detached | £326,000 | 21 |
| Terraced | £352,500 | 46 |
| Flat or maisonette | £400,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
In the comparison, Padstow comes above both Cornwall’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39). Padstow’s listed buildings include Church of St Petroc, Grade I. Padstow has 132 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 2 Grade I, 7 Grade II*.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
For Padstow, that is below both Cornwall’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%). Over-65s are 28% of the population. Half the people of Padstow are older than 49.3.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Padstow | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 22% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 28% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.1% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Police recorded 136 crimes inside Padstow’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 9 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 49% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking, so it runs higher than U.S. “violent crime”.
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
Padstow sits above both Cornwall’s towns (6.4%) and England’s towns (5.2%) on this measure. The nearest A&E to Padstow is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 19.8 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
| Census 2021 | Padstow | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Padstow. Best known first.
Historic housePrideaux Placein town
Theme parkCamel Creek Adventure Park4.7 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumPadstow Museumin townMuseumMuseumThe National Lobster Hatcheryin townMuseumMuseumPadstow Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padstow | 2,351 | — | — | D− | B− | B− |
| Rock | 1,156 | 2 | — | D− | B+ | B+ |
| St Merryn | 1,344 | 2.2 | — | D− | B+ | B− |
| Wadebridge | 5,626 | 5.1 | D | D− | C− | B |
| Egloshayle | 1,185 | 5.5 | — | D− | B | B |
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | 7.4 | D | D | C− | C+ |
| Quintrell Downs | 1,358 | 10 | — | D | C+ | B− |
| Newquay | 24,543 | 10 | D | D− | D | C+ |
Rock, St Merryn, Egloshayle and Quintrell Downs have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 23 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Church of St Petroc. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
An older village. At the 2021 Census, 28% of residents were 65 or over and 27% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 14% were under 15.
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £400,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £400,000, terraced houses £352,500, semi-detached houses £326,000 and detached houses £775,000. Private rents in the Cornwall council area averaged £1,000 a month in August 2026.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Village in Cornwall, England
Padstow is a built-up area of 2,351 people, in the Cornwall 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.