Photo: Eva K. / Eva K. · CC BY-SA 2.5Half of St Mawes is over 56.7, older than 98% of UK towns
Households with dependent children make up 13%, against 29% across England’s towns. At the 2021 Census St Mawes was home to 643 people in 326 households. 37% of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, households in detached houses are common here: 40%, more than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 39%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 89% of UK towns: 12% of residents lived at another address a year earlier
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 account for nearly a third of St Mawes’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 18%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns. On the census count, 4.7% of adults are full-time students.
St Mawes households average 2 people, smaller than in 99% 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.
Nothing unusual on shared households of unrelated adults: 4.6%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
In St Mawes, 21% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 85% 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
Across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 24%; St Mawes has 16%. Here, 18% of households live in a terraced house. Typically, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
St Mawes ranks above 76% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 10%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2%). To put it in context, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. St Mawes has fewer residents whose main language is English than three quarters of UK towns, at 96%.
52% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 66% 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: 91% of St Mawes · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns, against 40% in St Mawes. Across St Mawes, 91% of residents describe themselves as White British. The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns is 46%.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 71% of UK towns, at 29%
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
At 8.2%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 15 residents. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 48%, more than in just over half of UK towns.
Qualified to degree level: 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In St Mawes, 38% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 15% have no qualification at all (18%).
Nearby, 2 of 7 towns have older populations than St Mawes
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 Mawes | 643 | — | 56.7 | 39% | 13% |
| Falmouth | 24,066 | 3 mi | 38.6 | 21% | 21% |
| Mylor Bridge | 1,534 | 3.3 mi | 61.1 | 44% | 15% |
| Penryn | 11,194 | 4.6 mi | 30.3 | 15% | 24% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 5.3 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
| Mawnan Smith | 1,001 | 5.4 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 23% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 5.9 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Truro | 23,060 | 7.3 mi | 42.9 | 22% | 25% |
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 Mawes’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 St Mawes’s residents
What is the population of St Mawes?
The 2021 Census counted 643 people in St Mawes’s built-up area.
What is the average age in St Mawes?
The median age was 56.7 at the 2021 Census. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Mawes?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 10% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Mawes?
40% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is St Mawes good for families?
13% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Mawes’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.