Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Pensilva is over 52.5, older than 93% of UK towns
In Pensilva, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns. The village is home to 1,656 residents in 780 households, by the 2021 Census. For Pensilva, the census puts households with dependent children at 20%. On households in flats, Pensilva sits lower than 94% of UK towns: 2.7%.
What the Census says about Pensilva’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Pensilva’s residents are under 52.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
187 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Pensilva ranks above 89% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 29%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Pensilva ranks above 71% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.4%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 7.8%, below 69% of UK towns. Typically, 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.
Smaller households than 88% 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.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 2.8% in Pensilva and 4.3% across England’s towns. One-person households: nearly a third of the total.
11% of households have no car or van, below 76% 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
The share of households in terraced houses trails nearly two thirds of UK towns: 17%. Meanwhile, at 40%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in just over three quarters of UK towns. To put it in context, 24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 2.1%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (0.8%) and in the rest of Europe (0.4%). Measured more widely, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Where 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns, Pensilva has 100%.
45% of residents said they have no religion, a share 77% 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: 98% of Pensilva · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 47% in Pensilva and 46% across England’s towns. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Unpaid carers: 12%, a higher share than 95% 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
64 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison. On adults who have never married, Pensilva sits lower than 80% of UK towns: 28%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 25%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Pensilva’s adults: 25% with a degree-level qualification and 18% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Pensilva is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pensilva | 1,656 | — | 52.5 | 29% | 20% |
| St Cleer | 1,144 | 2.7 mi | 49.5 | 25% | 25% |
| Liskeard | 10,901 | 3.9 mi | 44.1 | 23% | 26% |
| Callington | 4,665 | 4.3 mi | 50 | 26% | 21% |
| Kelly Bray | 1,137 | 4.4 mi | 44.9 | 23% | 28% |
| Dobwalls | 1,683 | 5.6 mi | 48.5 | 25% | 24% |
| Landrake | 1,104 | 7.6 mi | 47.9 | 23% | 25% |
| Gunnislake and St Ann's Chapel | 3,506 | 8.4 mi | 50.5 | 27% | 23% |
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 Pensilva’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 Pensilva’s residents
What is the population of Pensilva?
The 2021 Census counted 1,656 people in Pensilva’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pensilva?
The median age was 52.5 at the 2021 Census. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pensilva?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pensilva?
45% said they had no religion and 47% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Pensilva good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pensilva’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.