Photo: Tim Green · CC BY 2.047% said they have no religion, more than in 87% of UK towns
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Truro has 28%. The share of one-person households stands at 34%. Higher than in 81% of UK towns: 22% of households have no car or van. The town is home to 23,060 residents in 10,270 households, by the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Truro’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 44% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Truro at 20,500 in 2011 and 24,500 in 2024, up 20%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 85% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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 growing town: +20% since 2011, faster than 85% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Truro’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 20,500 people in 2011; 24,500 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2016 to mid-2017: 540. By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+31%) and the 16 to 29 group least (+12%).
Younger than 62% of UK towns: half of Truro is under 42.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 6.8% of residents. More residents aged 15 to 24 than in 86% of UK towns: 11%. In Tywardreath, the oldest of Cornwall’s towns by this measure, it is 35%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Truro, 42.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 88 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Truro: 7% of adults are full-time students, above 91% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Truro has 37% and 23%. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns. For Truro, the census puts residents who moved in within the year at 12%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 79% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns, at 4.3%. Households with dependent children account for 25%.
A higher share of households in flats than 83% of UK towns, at 20%
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
A quarter of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. For households in flats, the comparison across England’s towns is 23%.
9% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 70% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (3.2%). At 97%, the share of residents whose main language is English is lower than in 67% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 18%. Of residents born abroad, 28% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns.
44% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 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: 88% of Truro · Cornwall’s towns 93% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 88%, against 73% across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.3%), Mixed or multiple (2.1%) and Indian (0.8%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
Below 84% of UK towns: 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. More unpaid carers than in 51% of UK towns: 9.4%. For married adults and civil partners, the comparison across England’s towns is 44%. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 588.
39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Truro counts 39% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 14% have no qualification (18%). For 18%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 41 in Truro West to 44 in Truro East
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Truro East is the oldest area, with 23% aged 65 or over; Truro West the youngest (median age 41). Families with children are most common in Truro East (27% of households).
272 UK towns of 16,000 to 31,000 people: this is the 134th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bangor (26.4) and the oldest Brixham (55.6). Nearest to Truro in age: Farnham (42.8), Ash and Ash Vale (42.9), Penarth (42.9) and Bredbury and Woodley (43).
Of the 7 towns nearest Truro, 5 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Truro | 23,060 | — | 42.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Shortlanesend | 1,427 | 1.9 mi | 36.2 | 13% | 38% |
| Threemilestone | 2,854 | 2.4 mi | 45.6 | 24% | 24% |
| Carnon Downs and Devoran | 2,129 | 3.3 mi | 55.7 | 36% | 20% |
| St Erme and Trispen | 1,604 | 3.6 mi | 39.5 | 16% | 33% |
| Perranarworthal | 1,305 | 4.5 mi | 53.4 | 33% | 23% |
| Probus | 2,565 | 5.2 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 25% |
| Mylor Bridge | 1,534 | 5.4 mi | 61.1 | 44% | 15% |
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 Truro’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. Truro’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 23,311 people in 2021, against 23,060 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 Truro’s residents
What is the population of Truro?
The 2021 Census counted 23,060 people in Truro’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 24,500 people in mid-2024, 20% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Truro?
The median age was 42.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Truro?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 93% across Cornwall’s towns. 9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Truro?
47% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Truro good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Truro East (27% of households). Schools are on Truro’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.