Photo: David Gearing · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 88% of UK towns: 48% of residents said they have no religion
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in St Columb Major, 2.4. The median age in the town is 43.2, lower than in 60% of UK towns. There were 1,550 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 3,663 residents. 13% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about St Columb Major’s people
More with no religion than most
48% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% 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) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
A ±0% change since 2011: slower than 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. St Columb Major’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 3,700 people in 2011; 3,700 in 2024.
Of the age groups, 65 and over changed most (+30%) and 16 to 29 least (−20%). The biggest jump came in the year to mid-2017: 110 more people.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 62% 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: 7.1% of residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over account for 22%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ St Columb Major, 43.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
5% of adults are full-time students, a share 56% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 26% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 29% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, 7.9% of adults are full-time students. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 8.7% in St Columb Major.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 87% of UK towns: 3.6%
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.
The share of households with dependent children is 28%, against 29% across England’s towns. One-person households are rarer here than in nearly three fifths of UK towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 4.3% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Below 61% of UK towns: 8.8% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
Households in detached houses make up 32%, against 21% across England’s towns. Fewer households in terraced houses than in 52% of UK towns: 20%. By way of comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
St Columb Major sits above 70% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (98%)
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in Africa (0.9%). Across the comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. Of residents born abroad, 15% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
44% of residents describe themselves as Christian, below 83% 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: 93% of St Columb Major · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The largest groups after White British are Other White (3.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and African (0.3%). St Columb Major has more residents who describe themselves as White British than 58% of UK towns, at 93%. Against that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A larger share of adults who have never married than 58% of UK towns: 34%
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
Married adults and civil partners: 45%, below 67% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. The census found that nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care in St Columb Major.
27% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In St Columb Major, 27% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (18%).
Ranked by age, 132nd youngest of 530 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to St Columb Major in age: Saxmundham (43.2), Clapham (43.2), Knebworth (43.3) and Wheatley Hill (43.4).
1 of the 7 nearest towns are older than St Columb Major
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | — | 43.2 | 22% | 28% |
| Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road | 3,888 | 2.8 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 32% |
| Quintrell Downs | 1,358 | 4.1 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 25% |
| St Dennis | 2,363 | 4.3 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 31% |
| Roche | 2,311 | 5.1 mi | 43 | 21% | 28% |
| Nanpean | 1,077 | 5.4 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 28% |
| Newquay | 24,543 | 5.6 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 25% |
| Foxhole | 1,526 | 6.1 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 St Columb Major’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. St Columb Major’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,663 people in 2021, against 3,663 in the built-up area.
- 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 St Columb Major’s residents
What is the population of St Columb Major?
The 2021 Census counted 3,663 people in St Columb Major’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,700 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in St Columb Major?
The median age was 43.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 60% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Columb Major?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Columb Major?
48% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is St Columb Major good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Columb Major’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.