Church of St Merryn · Photo: Ruth Sharville · CC BY-SA 2.06.7% of households have no car or van, below 96% of UK towns
In St Merryn, 11% of households live in a terraced house, beside 24% across England’s towns. The village is home to 1,344 residents in 585 households, by the 2021 Census. For St Merryn, the census puts residents aged 65 and over at 25%. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here, more than in three quarters of UK towns.
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 74% of UK towns, at 9%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 7.5% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. The median age in St Merryn is 46.9, higher than in 68% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
In St Merryn, 4.3% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 73% of UK towns
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%.
8.3% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A higher share of shared households of unrelated adults than 93% of UK towns, at 4.1%
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.
28% of households are one person living alone; across England’s towns the figure is 30%. On average, 2.3 people share a household. Households with dependent children are more common here than in 58% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 88% of UK towns, at 48%
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
In St Merryn, 6.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. The benchmark for households in detached houses across England’s towns: 21%.
In St Merryn, 3.4% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 86% 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
In St Merryn, 99% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%).
44% of residents said they have no religion, a share 68% of UK towns don’t reach
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 St Merryn · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly half of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns. For residents with no religion, the comparison across England’s towns is 37%. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Chinese (0.2%).
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 58% 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
In St Merryn, a third of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. For comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 37. At 9%, the share of unpaid carers is lower than in 60% of UK towns.
26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In St Merryn, 26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 21% have no qualification at all (18%).
Around St Merryn, 3 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 Merryn | 1,344 | — | 46.9 | 25% | 28% |
| Padstow | 2,351 | 2.2 mi | 49.3 | 28% | 21% |
| Rock | 1,156 | 4.1 mi | 53.9 | 36% | 20% |
| St Columb Major | 3,663 | 6.6 mi | 43.2 | 22% | 28% |
| Wadebridge | 5,626 | 6.7 mi | 50.4 | 30% | 21% |
| Egloshayle | 1,185 | 7.2 mi | 45 | 25% | 30% |
| Newquay | 24,543 | 8.3 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 25% |
| Quintrell Downs | 1,358 | 8.5 mi | 46.7 | 26% | 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 Merryn’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 Merryn’s residents
What is the population of St Merryn?
The 2021 Census counted 1,344 people in St Merryn’s built-up area.
What is the average age in St Merryn?
The median age was 46.9 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Merryn?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 3.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Merryn?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is St Merryn good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Merryn’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.