Photo: Peter Wood · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in flats make up 3.5% in Probus, less than in 90% of UK towns
In Probus, 45% of households live in a detached house, beside 21% across England’s towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 2,565, in 1,118 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 96%. 25% of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 72% of UK towns.
Half of Probus is over 47.1, older than 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.8% of residents. On residents aged 65 and over, Probus sits higher than three fifths of UK towns: 23%. Set against 12% across England’s towns, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in the town.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Probus, 47.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
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.
4.9% of adults are full-time students, a share 53% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
By class, just over a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). At 8.6%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is lower than in 52% of UK towns. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Only 28% of households are one person living alone in Probus
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.
In Probus the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Locally, 3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
9.3% of households have no car or van, below 86% of UK towns
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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 16% of households live in a terraced house here. One household in every 11 has no car or van.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 98% of UK towns, at 99%
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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). Lower than in 88% of UK towns: 3.2% of residents were born outside the UK. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%.
In Probus, 43% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 63% of UK towns
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: 96% of Probus · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
50% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across England’s towns the figure is 46%. Across England’s towns, 37% of residents said they have no religion. Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.4%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.2%).
Probus sits below 65% of UK towns for adults who have never married (30%)
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 55 people. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in just over three fifths of UK towns. Adults who have never married: 39% across England’s towns, for comparison. Nothing unusual on unpaid carers: 8.9%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 34%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
34% of Probus’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have none (18%).
Among 219 UK towns of 2,500 to 3,000 people, the 102nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Keele (20.6), the youngest, and St Mary's Bay (60.8), the oldest. Nearest to Probus in age: Codicote (47), Pucklechurch (47), Builth Wells (47.1) and Llandybie (47.2).
Older than Probus: 1 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probus | 2,565 | — | 47.1 | 23% | 25% |
| Grampound Road | 1,160 | 2.1 mi | 37.2 | 11% | 37% |
| St Erme and Trispen | 1,604 | 3.8 mi | 39.5 | 16% | 33% |
| St Stephen | 2,339 | 4.4 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 32% |
| Truro | 23,060 | 5.2 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Shortlanesend | 1,427 | 5.7 mi | 36.2 | 13% | 38% |
| Polgooth | 1,096 | 5.9 mi | 57.2 | 38% | 19% |
| Foxhole | 1,526 | 6 mi | 42.3 | 19% | 27% |
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 Probus’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 Probus’s residents
What is the population of Probus?
The 2021 Census counted 2,565 people in Probus’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Probus?
The median age was 47.1 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Probus?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Probus?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Probus good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Probus’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.