Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 2,565 in Cornwall, South West.
Probus grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 52% of UK towns, and #3 of 35 in Cornwall. Its strongest subject is safety (A−): 17.7 violent and sexual offences and 3.5 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £310,000, 6.7 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 Probus 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 Probus is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Historic England lists 12 buildings inside Probus’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
22% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Probus.
For Probus, that is above both Cornwall’s towns (64%) and England’s towns (61%). 6% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £395,000 | 47 |
| Semi-detached | £278,750 | 26 |
| Terraced | £255,000 | 25 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Probus Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 216 | B+ |
Homes saw 3.5 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, below both Cornwall’s towns (7.7) and England’s towns (9.4). Police recorded 57 crimes inside Probus’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 1 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences were 75% of the crimes; the police category includes harassment and stalking.
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 Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 29% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Probus sits below both Cornwall’s towns (42%) and England’s towns (45%) on this measure. At the census, 10% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
That puts Probus below both Cornwall’s towns (6.4%) and England’s towns (5.2%). The nearest A&E to Probus is Royal Cornwall Hospital, 6.6 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.
| Census 2021 | Probus | Cornwall | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 84% | 79% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 4.3% | 6.4% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 16% | 22% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Probus has 12 listed buildings inside its built-up area on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 0 Grade II*. 22% of its homes were built before 1919.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
11% of residents are 15 to 24 and 23% are 65 or over, against 11% and 24% across Cornwall’s towns. 34% of residents 16 and over have a degree-level qualification (Cornwall 30%, England 34%).
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
| Probus | Cornwall | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 30% | 27% | 25% |
| 65+ | 23% | 24% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 12% | 17% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 6.7% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 20% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 30% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Probus. Best known first.
Historic houseTrewithen House900 m outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumHeritage Centre3.2 km outside town, to the eastAttractionAttractionBike Park Kernow3.9 km outside town, to the northeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
12 listed buildings in Probus, 1 of them Grade I.
The Hawkins Arms: Photo: Mutney · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Probus War Memorial: Photo: Hanton01 · CC BY-SA 4.0
4 notable people were born in Probus.
John Hawkins: Mellangoose, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probus | 2,565 | — | B− | D− | A− | B |
| Grampound Road | 1,160 | 2.1 | — | C− | B− | B− |
| St Erme and Trispen | 1,604 | 3.8 | — | D | B+ | B |
| St Stephen | 2,339 | 4.4 | — | D− | D | C |
| Truro | 23,060 | 5.2 | D | D− | D | C |
| Shortlanesend | 1,427 | 5.7 | — | D− | A− | A− |
| Polgooth | 1,096 | 5.9 | — | D− | A+ | B+ |
| Foxhole | 1,526 | 6 | — | C− | C | C− |
Grampound Road, St Erme and Trispen, St Stephen, Shortlanesend, Polgooth and Foxhole 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.
Primary results beat 58% 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
Probus is a built-up area of 2,565 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.
