Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Shortlanesend is under 36.2, younger than 93% of UK towns
A household here has 2.5 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. The share of one-person households stands at 21%. Compared with other places, households in flats are scarce here: 5%, fewer than in 83% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 1,427 residents in Shortlanesend, living in 566 households.
What the Census says about Shortlanesend’s people
A village of families
38% of Shortlanesend’s 566 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 96% of UK towns. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Shortlanesend’s residents are under 36.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 10% are 15 to 24 and 13% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
More with no religion than most
53% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 41% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
13% of residents are 65 or over, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Shortlanesend ranks above 93% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 13%
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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Shortlanesend, 34% and 24%. Here, 6.6% of adults are full-time students. Set beside that, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
More households with dependent children than 96% of UK towns: 38%
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.
3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%). Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 97% of UK towns: 6.1%
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
A third of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns. Across Shortlanesend, 17% of households live in a terraced house.
In Shortlanesend, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 81% 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
Born outside the UK: 4.5% of residents, against 18% across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%.
Shortlanesend ranks above 97% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 53%
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: 95% of Shortlanesend · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as Christian at 41%, Shortlanesend is behind 90% of UK towns on that count. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. The census found that 95% of residents describe themselves as White British locally.
36% of adults have never married, more than in 73% of UK towns
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 22. 8.1% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 82% of UK towns. Measured more widely, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Shortlanesend comes in at 48%.
A degree-level qualification for 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Shortlanesend, 33%, and 11% have none, against 18%. 24% have A levels as their highest qualification, many of them still studying for a degree.
Shortlanesend is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shortlanesend | 1,427 | — | 36.2 | 13% | 38% |
| Truro | 23,060 | 1.9 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Threemilestone | 2,854 | 2.4 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 24% |
| St Erme and Trispen | 1,604 | 2.7 mi | 39.5 | 16% | 33% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 4.7 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
| Perranporth | 2,752 | 5.2 mi | 46.8 | 25% | 24% |
| St Newlyn East | 1,038 | 5.5 mi | 47.2 | 23% | 28% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 5.6 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
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 Shortlanesend’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 Shortlanesend’s residents
What is the population of Shortlanesend?
The 2021 Census counted 1,427 people in Shortlanesend’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shortlanesend?
The median age was 36.2 at the 2021 Census. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 13% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shortlanesend?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shortlanesend?
53% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Shortlanesend good for families?
38% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shortlanesend’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.