Photo: Tony Atkin · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 62: Penpol is older than 99% of UK towns
85% of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). Locally, 19% of households have dependent children. Lower than in 98% of UK towns: 4.3% of households live in a terraced house. At the 2021 Census Penpol was home to 513 people in 232 households.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 99% of UK towns: 46%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: just over one in ten residents, 2.5 times the share across England’s towns. On residents aged 15 to 24, Penpol sits lower than 99% of UK towns: 6.6%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Only 7.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Penpol
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%.
5.1% of adults are full-time students; across England’s towns the figure is 7.9%. To put it in context, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A smaller share of one-person households than 94% of UK towns: 23%
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.
Compared with 4.3% across England’s towns, 1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home here. Average household size: 2.2 people. One-person households: 30% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.9% of households
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
Set against 24% across England’s towns, 5.2% of households have no car or van in Penpol. The benchmark for households in flats across England’s towns: 23%.
Penpol sits above 93% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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
5.5% of residents were born outside the UK; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (3.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.4%). Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
Penpol sits above 79% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (55%)
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: 95% of Penpol · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.7%), Chinese (1.2%) and Mixed or multiple (0.8%). Higher than in 72% of UK towns: 95% of residents describe themselves as White British. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%. Residents with no religion: 40%, below nearly three fifths of UK towns.
Penpol ranks above 99% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 70%
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
The figure for adults who have never married is 15% in Penpol and 39% across England’s towns. Across Penpol, 13% of residents give unpaid care. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 56%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 56% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 6.8% hold no qualification (18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Penpol
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penpol | 513 | — | 62 | 46% | 19% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 1.2 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
| Mylor Bridge | 1,534 | 1.6 mi | 61.1 | 44% | 15% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 2.2 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Penryn | 11,194 | 3.2 mi | 30.3 | 15% | 24% |
| Truro | 23,060 | 3.8 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Falmouth | 24,066 | 3.9 mi | 38.6 | 21% | 21% |
| Threemilestone | 2,854 | 4.1 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 24% |
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 Penpol’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 Penpol’s residents
What is the population of Penpol?
The 2021 Census counted 513 people in Penpol’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Penpol?
The median age was 62 at the 2021 Census. 6.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 46% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Penpol?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 5.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penpol?
40% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Penpol good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Penpol’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.