Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,218 in Cornwall, South West.
Portreath has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Its strongest subject is schools (B): primary results beat 45% of towns in England; secondary results beat 63% of towns in England. Its weakest is hazard risk (D−): 29% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. The median home sold for £320,000 in the last three years, 7 times what households in the Cornwall council area earn in a year.
Devon And Cornwall Police published 33 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published.
The 3 things Portreath 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 Portreath is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 8 buildings inside Portreath’s built-up area.
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 1908.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Portreath. Best known first.
CastleCarn Brea Castle4.4 km outside town, to the southeast
Museum · National TrustEast Pool Mine2.9 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumCornish Mines and Engines2.9 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseum · National TrustMichell's Engine House3.2 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkHeartlands (playground)3.5 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Portreath.
6% of households rent from a council or housing body. Home ownership stands at nearly two thirds of households. Also worth knowing: the £320,000 median rests on 60 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £410,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £320,000 | 9 |
| Terraced | £305,000 | 29 |
| Flat or maisonette | £222,500 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Secondary results at the one secondary school within 3 km: an Attainment 8 score of 47.7, with 49% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. Its one school is below. Key Stage 2 results at the 3 primary schools within 3 km: 61% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average).
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portreath Community Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 165 | A− |
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · 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.
Household income came to £46K a year before tax, about level with Cornwall’s towns (£45K) and below England’s towns (£55K). 85% of commuters took the car to work at the census. Of the commuters living in Portreath, 6% work in the town itself. For 31% of commuters, work was under 5 km away.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 13.4 reports per 1,000, higher than both Cornwall’s towns (6.8) and England’s towns (7.8). Police figures for Portreath’s built-up area: 50 crimes and 16 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Of all the crimes, 52% 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.
At the census, 19% of people here had a disability, lower than Cornwall’s towns (22%) yet higher than England’s towns (17%). Seeing a GP means leaving Portreath: the nearest practice is 1.3 miles away. The nearest A&E to Portreath is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 8.6 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Portreath | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.1% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 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.
22% of residents have reached 65. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 8.5% of residents, lower than both Cornwall’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%). The share of residents under 15 is 18%. The middle age in Portreath is 44.2.
54% women, 46% men
About 86 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
| Portreath | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 18% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.5% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 22% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 11% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.7% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 18% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 43% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portreath | 1,218 | — | — | D− | B− | B− |
| Illogan | 1,096 | 1.6 | — | D− | B+ | C+ |
| Tolvaddon | 1,107 | 1.9 | — | C | C+ | C+ |
| Pool and Illogan | 8,588 | 2.1 | D− | D | D | C |
| Redruth | 15,455 | 3.1 | D− | D | C− | C− |
| Camborne | 20,445 | 3.2 | D− | D | D | D |
| Mount Hawke | 1,593 | 3.7 | — | D | B | B |
| Troon | 1,402 | 4.5 | — | D | D | C− |
Illogan, Tolvaddon, Mount Hawke and Troon 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.
That is 2.7 times the typical UK town for its size.
Band D council tax in Portreath is £2,547 for 2026–27, more than in 76% 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
Portreath is a built-up area of 1,218 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.