Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 574 people, this village lies in Cornwall, South West.
Polperro has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real. 103 buildings are listed here, 0 at Grade I. 36% of residents are 65 or over. Walking, cycling and public transport carry 43% of commuters.
The 3 things Polperro does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists 103 buildings inside Polperro’s built-up area.
32% 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 1905.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Polperro.
6.2% of residents are 15 to 24, below both Cornwall’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). Line up the people of Polperro by age and the one in the middle is 58.1. Degrees are held by just over a quarter of adults.
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Polperro | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 6.4% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.2% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 38% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 36% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 8.9% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 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 30% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
A household here earns £41K a year before tax, on average. Two in five commuters travelled under 5 km, about level with Cornwall’s towns (42%) and below England’s towns (45%). There are 1.1 jobs in Polperro for each resident in work.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Private rents average £1,000 a month across the Cornwall council area. From September 2023 to August 2026, 34 homes sold inside Polperro’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £277,500. Also worth knowing: the owner-occupied share of households is 60%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £597,500 | 10 |
| Semi-detached | £227,300 | 7 |
| Terraced | £263,250 | 16 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 43 crimes and 4 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Polperro’s built-up area. Homes saw 12.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Cornwall’s towns (7.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Of all the crimes, 63% were violence and sexual offences.
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 · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 14% of the town. 70% of Polperro’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Cornwall’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%) alike. The town has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.4 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Polperro | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 70% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 14% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 30% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
32% of its homes were built before 1919, above both Cornwall’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (16%). Of Polperro’s land, 67% lies in conservation areas, above Cornwall’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%) alike.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Polperro. Best known first.
Abbey or priorySclerder Abbey1.4 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumLooe Harbour Heritage Centre4.7 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumOld Guild Hall4.8 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polperro | 574 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Pelynt | 1,144 | 2.5 | — | D− | B+ | C+ |
| Looe | 5,314 | 3.5 | D− | D | C | C+ |
| Fowey | 2,027 | 5.4 | — | D− | C+ | B− |
| Tywardreath | 2,589 | 8 | C− | D− | B | B− |
| Lostwithiel | 3,067 | 8.4 | C+ | D− | B− | C+ |
| Dobwalls | 1,683 | 8.5 | — | D | B | C |
| Liskeard | 10,901 | 8.8 | D− | D | D | C− |
Pelynt, Fowey and Dobwalls have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 73.6 times the typical UK town for its size.
Band D council tax in Polperro is £2,536 for 2026–27, more than in 73% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Cornwall, England
Polperro is a built-up area of 574 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.