Photo: Andrew Abbott · CC BY-SA 2.0One-person homes: 43% of households in Penzance
Here a fifth of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. For Penzance, the census puts households in terraced houses at 38%. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 36%, fewer than in 97% of UK towns. The town had 14,957 residents and 7,546 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 49.2 (older than 81% of UK towns).
What the Census says about Penzance’s people
A town of flats
32% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 33% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 41% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Penzance at 16,400 in 2011 and 16,200 in 2024, down 1%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 87% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
−1% since 2011, a pace below 87% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Penzance’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 16,400 people in 2011; 16,200 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+20%) and 0 to 15 least (−16%).
A median age of 49.2: Penzance is older than 81% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 8.1% of residents. Higher than in 80% of UK towns: 27% of residents are 65 or over. What’s more, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops just over three quarters of UK towns: 11%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Penzance, 49.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
In Penzance, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 83% of UK towns
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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%; Penzance has 5%. By class, 26% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%).
Households here average 2 people, below 99% 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.
3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
In Penzance, 33% of households have no car or van, more than in 97% 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
With households in flats at 32%, Penzance is ahead of 96% of UK towns on that count. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%. For Penzance, the census puts households in detached houses at 13%.
Penzance ranks above 57% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 98%
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Lower than in just over half of UK towns: 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK. Where just over a fifth of those born abroad across England’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 12%.
No religion: 49% of residents, a higher share than 91% 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: 92% of Penzance · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as Christian at 41%, Penzance is behind 91% of UK towns on that count. As a yardstick, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and Chinese (0.3%). On residents who describe themselves as White British, Penzance sits lower than 50% of UK towns: 92%.
Penzance ranks above 82% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 11%
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
505 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%. At 38%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 30%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Penzance counts 30% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 47 in Penzance North to 56 in Penzance South & Newlyn
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Penzance South & Newlyn is the oldest area, with 36% aged 65 or over; Penzance North the youngest (median age 47). Families with children are most common in Penzance North (24% of households).
51st highest median age among 384 UK towns of 10,000 to 20,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Penzance in age: Ulverston (49.1), Willerby and Anlaby (49.2), Whickham (49.4) and Matlock (49.4).
Penzance and its 7 nearest towns: 5 of them 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penzance | 14,957 | — | 49.2 | 27% | 20% |
| Longrock | 1,983 | 1.1 mi | 53.3 | 32% | 20% |
| Newlyn | 3,362 | 1.3 mi | 51.5 | 29% | 20% |
| Marazion | 1,350 | 3.3 mi | 52 | 31% | 20% |
| Crowlas | 1,054 | 3.4 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 24% |
| Goldsithney | 1,346 | 4.7 mi | 47 | 26% | 27% |
| St Erth | 1,128 | 6 mi | 46.4 | 23% | 29% |
| Carbis Bay | 3,967 | 6.1 mi | 53.3 | 32% | 21% |
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 Penzance’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. Penzance’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,362 people in 2021, against 14,957 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 Penzance’s residents
What is the population of Penzance?
The 2021 Census counted 14,957 people in Penzance’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 16,200 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Penzance?
The median age was 49.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 81% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Penzance?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penzance?
49% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.4% didn’t answer.
Is Penzance good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Penzance North (24% of households). Schools are on Penzance’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.