Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0St Stephen: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, above 97% of UK towns
Compared with 29% across England’s towns, 32% of households have dependent children here. In 2021, the Census found 2,339 residents in St Stephen, living in 963 households. Households in detached houses: 46% of the total. Few places have so few households in flats: 5.4% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
What the Census says about St Stephen’s people
Many carers
265 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 96% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11% in St Stephen, more than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
21% of residents are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. With a median age of 44.3, St Stephen is younger than just over half of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 5.7% in St Stephen, more than in 80% 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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in St Stephen comes in at 8.4%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of one-person households than 85% of UK towns, at 25%
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.7%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone. Households average 2.4 people.
St Stephen ranks below 62% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 13%
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
21% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. Every 8th household or so has no car or van.
In St Stephen, 2% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 99% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (0.9%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.6%). As a yardstick, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. On residents whose main language is English, St Stephen sits higher than 98% of UK towns: 99%.
46% said they have no religion, more than in 80% 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: 97% of St Stephen · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 48% in St Stephen and 46% across England’s towns. The share of residents with no religion across England’s towns is 37%.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 96% of UK towns: 12%
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
Some 109 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Set beside that, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. At 32%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 52% of UK towns. Compared with 44% across England’s towns, 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here.
Qualified to degree level: 22% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In St Stephen, 22% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 19% have no qualification at all (18%).
Older than St Stephen: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 Stephen | 2,339 | — | 44.3 | 21% | 32% |
| Foxhole | 1,526 | 1.7 mi | 42.3 | 19% | 27% |
| Nanpean | 1,077 | 1.9 mi | 40.3 | 16% | 28% |
| Grampound Road | 1,160 | 2.4 mi | 37.2 | 11% | 37% |
| St Dennis | 2,363 | 2.6 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 31% |
| Trewoon | 1,246 | 3.1 mi | 47 | 24% | 26% |
| Polgooth | 1,096 | 3.5 mi | 57.2 | 38% | 19% |
| Indian Queens, Fraddon and St Columb Road | 3,888 | 3.7 mi | 40.4 | 18% | 32% |
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 St Stephen’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 Stephen’s residents
What is the population of St Stephen?
The 2021 Census counted 2,339 people in St Stephen’s built-up area.
What is the average age in St Stephen?
The median age was 44.3 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is St Stephen?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in St Stephen?
46% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is St Stephen good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on St Stephen’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.