Photo: Oliver Mills · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Polruan is over 58.1
The share of one-person households is 38%, against 30% across England’s towns. Polruan’s 268 households held 534 residents at the 2021 Census. For Polruan, the census puts households with dependent children at 13%. On adults who have never married, Polruan sits lower than 88% of UK towns: 26%.
Residents aged 65 and over: 36%, a higher share than 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 is 7.5%, against 12% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About 105 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Fewer full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.3%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 30% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 24% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The census found that 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier in Polruan.
Polruan households average 2 people, smaller than in 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.
At 4.1%, shared households of unrelated adults sit close to the figure across England’s towns.
Only 4.1% of households live in a flat or apartment in Polruan
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 figure for households without a car or van is 25% in Polruan and 24% across England’s towns. 29% of households live in a terraced house. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 34%, more than in 63% of UK towns. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
Polruan ranks below 58% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 5.6%
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in Africa (0.9%). The share of residents born outside the UK across England’s towns is 18%. Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 58% of UK towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 82% of UK towns, at 46%
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: 94% of Polruan · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Indian (0.4%). Lower than in 83% of UK towns: 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion is 37%. In Polruan, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, beside 73% across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 51% in Polruan, more than in 71% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 22 residents. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. 10% of residents give unpaid care, a higher share than in 67% of UK towns.
30% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Polruan counts 30% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 20% have no qualification (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Polruan, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polruan | 534 | — | 58.1 | 36% | 13% |
| Fowey | 2,027 | 0.9 mi | 55 | 33% | 20% |
| Tywardreath | 2,589 | 3.6 mi | 55.7 | 35% | 20% |
| St Blazey | 6,569 | 4.3 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 29% |
| Carlyon Bay | 1,174 | 5.2 mi | 62.8 | 47% | 16% |
| Pelynt | 1,144 | 5.3 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 20% |
| Lostwithiel | 3,067 | 5.8 mi | 51.6 | 29% | 21% |
| St Austell | 24,361 | 6.6 mi | 45 | 23% | 26% |
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 Polruan’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 Polruan’s residents
What is the population of Polruan?
The 2021 Census counted 534 people in Polruan’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Polruan?
The median age was 58.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Polruan?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Polruan?
46% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.9% didn’t answer.
Is Polruan good for families?
13% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Polruan’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.