Photo: Olaf Tausch · CC BY 3.0A median age of 53.9: Rock is older than 95% of UK towns
20% of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census Rock was home to 1,156 people in 561 households. One-person households account for 38%. Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 55% of households live in a detached house.
What the Census says about Rock’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Rock’s residents are under 53.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 36% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
147 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 13% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
36% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 9.5% of residents, 2 times the share across England’s towns. 8.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a lower share than in 87% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 84 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.
More full-time students than 80% of UK towns: 5.8%
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 12%, above 89% of UK towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 95% of UK towns
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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Rock.
10% of households live in a terraced house, below 88% 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
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Rock comes in at 8.4%. Census figures put households without a car or van at 12% locally. The share of households in terraced houses across England’s towns is 24%.
99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 88% of UK towns
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 Africa (2.2%) and in EU countries (1.9%). Rock has more residents born outside the UK than 55% of UK towns, at 6.9%. Across England’s towns, nine in ten residents have English as their main language.
Rock sits above 64% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (94%)
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: 94% of Rock · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
42% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. The share of residents who describe themselves as White British across England’s towns is 73%. In Rock, just over half of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Rock ranks above 99% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 13%
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
In Rock, 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, beside 44% across England’s towns. Adults who have never married: 26% of the total. For comparison, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 36%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 36% of its adults qualified to degree level, Rock compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 15% hold no qualification (18%).
Every neighbour of Rock has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rock | 1,156 | — | 53.9 | 36% | 20% |
| Padstow | 2,351 | 2 mi | 49.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Wadebridge | 5,626 | 3.8 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 21% |
| Egloshayle | 1,185 | 4.1 mi | 45 | 25% | 30% |
| St Merryn | 1,344 | 4.1 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 28% |
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | 8.3 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 28% |
| Delabole | 1,779 | 9.2 mi | 47.9 | 24% | 24% |
| Bodmin | 16,904 | 9.6 mi | 41.3 | 20% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Rock’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 Rock’s residents
What is the population of Rock?
The 2021 Census counted 1,156 people in Rock’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Rock?
The median age was 53.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 36% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rock?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Rock?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Rock good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Rock’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.