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Portscatho & coastline - a panoramic view from the north, 1979
UK›Cornwall›South West

PortscathoCornwall

A village of 588 in Cornwall, South West.

7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Martin Tester · CC BY-SA 2.0
Portscatho & coastline - a panoramic view from the north, 1979

Portscatho, Cornwall · Photo: Martin Tester · CC BY-SA 2.0

Is Portscatho a good place to live?

Portscatho has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.

What makes Portscatho stand out

The 3 things Portscatho does most differently from other towns.

Picked automatically from the data
Portscatho’s outline. No photo of its heritage is in our collection yet.
Portscatho’s story

18 listed buildings, 1 of them Grade I

Historic England lists them inside Portscatho’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.

35% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.

Explore the history →

The data

Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Portscatho.

Who lives here

Portscatho skews older, with 41% of residents 65 or over, more than Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns

For Portscatho, that is above both Cornwall’s towns (24%) and England’s towns (18%). Under-15s account for 11% of the population. Half the people of Portscatho are older than 60.1.

60.1median age
PortscathoCornwallEngland

Ages · share of residents

Qualifications · residents 16 and older

No qualifications16%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar13%
Degree level40%

Women and men · all residents

53% women, 47% men

About 90 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.

Ages and qualifications in Portscatho
PortscathoCornwallEngland
Under 1511%16%18%
15–247%11%12%
25–4417%22%27%
45–6424%27%25%
65+41%24%18%
No qualifications16%17%18%
Apprenticeship6.3%6.7%5.3%
A levels or similar13%19%17%
Degree level40%30%34%

ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL

Schools

The schools around Portscatho

Its one school is below.

SchoolLevelPupilsLetter
Gerrans SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimaryPrimary69C
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsThe Schools page →
Work & commute

Commuters in Portscatho travel far: only 33% go under 5 km, fewer than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 26% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.

Portscatho sits below both Cornwall’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. 66% of commuters drove to work at the census.

29%walk, cycle or ride

How commuters got to work · March 2021

Driving66%
On foot27%
Train1%
Bicycle1%
33%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
26%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£48K
mean household income, before tax
2.8%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)

ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL

Housing

Homes in Portscatho cost more than in Cornwall’s towns or across England’s towns, with a median sale of £665K

That puts Portscatho above both Cornwall’s towns (£277K) and England’s towns (£308K). 16% of households rent privately.

£665Kmedian sale

Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026

Portscatho£665K
Typical UK town£277K
By typeMedianSales
Detached£700,00012
Semi-detached£735,0005
Terraced£480,3668
61%
of households own their home · England 61%
16%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,000
average private rent a month, Cornwall council area
£2,461
council tax, Band D, 2026–27

HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL

Safety

Homes in Portscatho see less burglary and damage than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 5.6 per 1,000 a year

On this, Portscatho is below both Cornwall’s towns (7.6) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 25 crimes inside Portscatho’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 0 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 56% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.

22.9violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year

Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026

Violence & sexual14
Damage & arson4
Public order2
Other theft2
Drugs1
Vehicle crime1
Bicycle theft1
Shoplifting0
Anti-social0

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.

22.9
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
5.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0.6
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
25
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026

data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL

Health

Bad health is more common in Portscatho than in Cornwall’s towns or across England’s towns: 10% of residents

In the comparison, Portscatho comes above both Cornwall’s towns (6.4%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Portscatho is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 7.8 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.

73%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 73%Fair 17%Bad or very bad 10%
Census 2021PortscathoCornwallEngland
Good or very good health73%79%82%
Bad or very bad health10%6.4%5.2%
Disabled (Equality Act)24%22%17%
80.6
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
83.5
life expectancy at birth, women

ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL

History

More buildings in Portscatho are listed than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 306 per 10,000 residents

The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.

Portscatho’s listed buildings include Church of St Gerrans, Grade I. Portscatho has 18 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*. 35% of homes were built before 1919.

18listed buildings

Listed buildings by grade · Historic England

Grade I1
Grade II*0
Grade II17

Among them · Grade I

1
scheduled monument
0
registered parks and gardens
35%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
306
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24

Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL

Keep exploring

Everything we know about Portscatho

12pages on Portscatho

Portscatho’s neighbours

The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →

All towns in Cornwall →
Mylor BridgeFalmouthCarnon Downs and DevoranPenrynPerranarworthalTruroMawnan SmithMylor BridgeFalmouthCarnon Downs and DevoranPenrynPerranarworthalTruroMawnan SmithPortscatho
How the neighbours grade
TownPeopleMilesOverallCostSafetyHealth
Portscatho588—————
Mylor Bridge1,5344.4—D−A+A
Falmouth24,0664.8CD−CC+
Carnon Downs and Devoran2,1295.7—D−AA−
Penryn11,1946C+DBC+
Perranarworthal1,3056.6—D−A+A
Truro23,0606.8DD−DC
Mawnan Smith1,0017.3—D−A+A−

Mylor Bridge, Carnon Downs and Devoran, Perranarworthal and Mawnan Smith have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.

Questions about Portscatho

Is Portscatho expensive to live in?

By type: terraced houses £480,366, semi-detached houses £735,000 and detached houses £700,000. Private rents in the Cornwall council area averaged £1,000 a month in August 2026.

How many listed buildings are there in Portscatho?

That is 12.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Gerrans. It also has 1 scheduled monument.

About Portscatho

Village in Cornwall, England

Portscatho is a built-up area of 588 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

Population
588 (Census 2021)
Council
Cornwall
County
Cornwall
Region
South West
Area
0.1 sq mi (0.3 km²)
ONS code
E63007048

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.