St Ives grades D− overall against UK towns: better than 3% of UK towns, and #31 of 35 in Cornwall. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 40% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is cost of living (D−): median sale £350,000, 7.6 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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far St Ives is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in St Ives.
History
More buildings in St Ives are listed than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 333 per 10,000 residents
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
On this, St Ives is above both Cornwall’s towns (52) and England’s towns (39). St Ives’s listed buildings include Church of St Ia, Grade I. St Ives has 180 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 1 Grade I, 2 Grade II*.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
Fewer children live in St Ives than in Cornwall’s towns or England’s towns: 13% are under 15
St Ives sits below both Cornwall’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Over-65s are 28% of the population. Half the people of St Ives are older than 50.4.
50.4median age
St IvesCornwallEngland
Ages · share of residents
28%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level31%
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
WomenEnglandMen
About 88 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.
ONS Census 2021 · Cornwall and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in St Ives than in Cornwall’s towns or across England’s towns: 44.3 per 1,000 residents a year
That puts St Ives above both Cornwall’s towns (25) and England’s towns (22). Homes see 13.8 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 481 crimes inside St Ives’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 86 reports of anti-social behaviour.
44.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 10% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual286
Damage & arson49
Other theft46
Shoplifting30
Public order29
Burglary9
Other crime8
Drugs7
Anti-social86
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.
44.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
13.8
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
22.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
Bad health is more common in St Ives than in Cornwall’s towns or across England’s towns: 7.7% of residents
At the census, 77% of people in St Ives called their health good or very good, below both Cornwall’s towns (79%) and England’s towns (82%). Women here live to 83 on average and men to 77.8 (2019–23). 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.
St Erth, Crowlas, Connor Downs, Longrock and Marazion have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about St Ives
How many listed buildings are there in St Ives?
That is 13.6 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Ia. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Does St Ives flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Who lives in St Ives?
An older town. At the 2021 Census, 28% of residents were 65 or over and 29% were 45 to 64, against 18% and 25% across England’s towns; 13% were under 15.
Is St Ives safe?
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 90% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people report less. Police recorded 481 crimes inside St Ives’ built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 59% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
About St Ives
Town in Cornwall, England
St Ives is a built-up area of 5,413 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
Population
5,413 (Census 2021)
Council
Cornwall
County
Cornwall
Region
South West
Area
0.6 sq mi (1.6 km²)
ONS code
E63007021
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.
