Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 3,118 in Cornwall, South West.
Porthleven grades D overall against UK towns: better than 13% of UK towns, and #16 of 35 in Cornwall. Its strongest subject is walkability (B): 16% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £320,000, 7 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 3 things Porthleven 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 Porthleven is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 28 buildings inside Porthleven’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade II*.
29% 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 1910.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Porthleven.
The under-15s are 14% of the population here. Young adults of 15 to 24 are nearly one in ten residents, below Cornwall’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%) alike. Typical age in Porthleven: 51.3, the median.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Porthleven | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 9.1% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 19% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 29% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 30% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Below is its only school. 57% of pupils at the 4 primary schools within 3 km met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). 175 pupils attend Porthleven’s one primary school.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Porthleven SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 175 | C |
Behind the median of £320,000: 151 standard sales inside Porthleven’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026. 18% live in social housing, about level with England’s towns (18%) and above Cornwall’s towns (15%). Private rents average £1,000 a month across the Cornwall council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £424,000 | 56 |
| Semi-detached | £330,500 | 32 |
| Terraced | £265,000 | 57 |
| Flat or maisonette | £262,500 | 6 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Porthleven’s land, 23% lies in conservation areas, higher than both Cornwall’s towns (0%) and England’s towns (7%). The town has 28 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade II*. Scaled to its population, that is 90 listed buildings for every 10,000 people locally.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
2.9% of 16 to 64s claimed unemployment benefits in 2026, near Cornwall’s towns (3%) and higher than England’s towns (2.3%). Average household income comes to £46K a year before tax. The next most common way to work was walking (13%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Porthleven logged 132 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 11 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 67% of recorded crime. For its size, Porthleven records less crime per resident than 57% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people.
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.
At the census, just over a fifth of people here had a disability, close to Cornwall’s towns (22%) and above England’s towns (17%). Porthleven has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 2.1 miles away. The nearest A&E to Porthleven is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 15.9 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Porthleven | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.9% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 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.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Porthleven. Best known first.
Heritage railwayHelston Railway3.6 km outside town, to the north
Theme parkThe Flambards Experience3.5 km outside town, to the east
Historic houseTrevarno Gardens3.6 km outside town, to the north
MuseumMuseum of Cornish Life2.8 km outside town, to the northeastHistoric siteHistoric site771 NAS Search and Rescue Sea King3 km outside town, to the eastFortFortGunwalloe Cliff Castle4.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
28 listed buildings in Porthleven.
Warehouse Occupied by Salt Cellar Crafts: Photo: Peter Glyn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Harbour Inn: Photo: Hanton01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · China Clay Store: Photo: Peter Glyn · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Bickford Smith Institute and Attached Wall: Photo: Nilfanion · CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porthleven | 3,118 | — | D | D− | B | B− |
| Helston | 11,366 | 2.3 | D | D | C+ | B− |
| Mullion | 2,148 | 5.2 | — | D− | B | B |
| Goldsithney | 1,346 | 6.1 | — | D− | B+ | C+ |
| Reawla | 1,117 | 6.9 | — | D | B+ | C |
| Marazion | 1,350 | 7.4 | — | D− | C+ | C |
| St Erth | 1,128 | 7.5 | — | D− | C | C+ |
| Troon | 1,402 | 7.7 | — | D | D | C− |
Mullion, Goldsithney, Reawla, Marazion, St Erth and Troon have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 3.7 times the typical UK town for its size.
Primary results trail 74% 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
Porthleven is a built-up area of 3,118 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.