Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,752 in Cornwall, South West.
Perranporth grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 18% of UK towns, and #12 of 35 in Cornwall. Its strongest subject is schools (A−): primary results beat 79% of towns in England. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £337,750, 7.3 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 2 things Perranporth 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 Perranporth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 6 buildings inside Perranporth’s built-up area.
12% 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 1904.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Perranporth.
Private rents average £1,000 a month across the Cornwall council area. Social housing holds 14% of households, close to Cornwall’s towns (15%) and below England’s towns (18%). Households that own their home make up 62%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £460,000 | 42 |
| Semi-detached | £347,500 | 26 |
| Terraced | £263,750 | 14 |
| Flat or maisonette | £240,000 | 30 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Its one school is below. Key Stage 2 results at the 4 primary schools within 3 km: 67% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). The town’s primary school has 207 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perranporth Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 207 | A− |
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 221 crimes and 26 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Perranporth’s built-up area. Per 1,000 residents, 44 violent crimes are recorded each year. For its size, Perranporth records more crime per resident than 91% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people. There were 13.6 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above Cornwall’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8) alike.
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
16% are under 15, near Cornwall’s towns (16%) and lower than England’s towns (18%). People 65 and over make up 25% of the town. Residents of Perranporth have a median age of 46.8. Among adults, 34% have a degree.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Perranporth | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.4% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 25% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 16% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.5% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 28% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
By car: that was how 76% of commuters travelled at the census. Unemployment benefit claims came to 3.1% of 16 to 64s in 2026, about level with Cornwall’s towns (3%) and above England’s towns (2.3%). Also worth knowing: households take home £49K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Perranporth, 21% work in the town itself.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up just over a tenth of the total, below both Cornwall’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (16%). Listed buildings per head: 22 for every 10,000 residents of Perranporth.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest A&E to Perranporth is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 6 miles away. 22% of residents have a disability, near Cornwall’s towns (22%) and higher than England’s towns (17%). Asked at the census, nearly four in five residents of Perranporth said they were in good or very good health. One GP practice serves the town; 85% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey.
| Census 2021 | Perranporth | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Perranporth. Best known first.
MuseumSt Agnes Museum3.4 km outside town, to the southwest
MuseumBlue Hills Tin Streams2 km outside town, to the southwestPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
6 listed buildings in Perranporth.
Bridge at SW755540: Photo: Colin Pyle · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Chimney at SW762542: Photo: David Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Geograph
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perranporth | 2,752 | — | C− | D− | D | C+ |
| St Agnes | 3,253 | 3.2 | B+ | D− | B+ | B+ |
| St Newlyn East | 1,038 | 4.6 | — | D− | A | B− |
| Mount Hawke | 1,593 | 4.9 | — | D | B | B |
| Shortlanesend | 1,427 | 5.2 | — | D− | A− | A− |
| Threemilestone | 2,854 | 6 | B | D− | B | C |
| St Erme and Trispen | 1,604 | 6 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Newquay | 24,543 | 6.1 | D | D− | D | C+ |
St Newlyn East, Mount Hawke, Shortlanesend and St Erme and Trispen have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Police recorded 221 crimes inside Perranporth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 56% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
An older town. At the 2021 Census, 25% of residents were 65 or over and 28% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 16% were under 15.
Primary results beat 79% of towns in England (Department for Education, Key Stage 2). One state school is inside the town; places are handled by Cornwall council.
Town in Cornwall, England
Perranporth is a built-up area of 2,752 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.
