Cornwall
Economic profile. Data last updated 2026-03-28.
Cornwall supports 232,295 workplace jobs with median earnings 15% below the England average. The claimant rate (3.4%) is lower than the England average of 4.1%. Productivity (GVA per job) is ranked 296th of 391 local authorities.
Source: ONS, Nomis, HM Land Registry, 2024-2025·Last updated March 2026
Employment & Labour Market
Monthly claimant count rate over the past 3 years.
Source: Claimant Count via Nomis, BRES, 2020-2026·Last updated March 2026
Industry Structure
Location quotients and shift-share analysis for Cornwall's economy.
The most specialised sectors are Mining & quarrying (LQ 4.91) and Agriculture, forestry & fishing (LQ 3.61). Accommodation & food service shows the strongest local competitive advantage. Administrative & support services underperforms its national sectoral trend.
Source: BRES via Nomis, 2020-2024·Last updated March 2026
Economic Output
Estimated Gross Value Added for Cornwall, derived from sector employment and national productivity ratios.
Estimates based on national GVA-per-job ratios applied to local sector employment (BRES). Indicative only. See Methodology for details.
Earnings & Income
Gross annual earnings distribution, 2025.
Median annual earnings of £28,210 are below the England median of £33,080. The 90/10 earnings ratio is 5.7x (England: 6.2x), indicating relatively high wage inequality.
Source: ASHE via Nomis, 2025·Last updated March 2026
Skills & Qualifications
Census 2021 highest qualification and occupation data.
Source: Census 2021, ONS
Demographics
Census 2021 population by age band.
The population is 570,302 with 59.5% of working age. The dependency ratio is 68.1% (above average, indicating a relatively older or younger population).
Source: Census 2021, ONS·Last updated 2021
Commuting & Travel to Work
Census 2021 method of travel to work for Cornwall residents.
24.7% of residents work from home (below the national average). The most common commute method is driving a car or van (56.1%).
Source: Census 2021 TS061, ONS·Last updated 2021
Business Environment
Active enterprises in Cornwall from the UK Business Counts dataset.
25,345 active enterprises operate in this area. 76.2% of enterprises have fewer than 5 employees.
Source: UK Business Counts via Nomis, 2024·Last updated March 2026
Housing & Property Market
Estimated house prices for Cornwall vs England, 2015-2025.
The median house price of £234,941 is significantly below the England median of £290,000. The price-to-earnings ratio is 8.3x. Prices have risen 1.8% over the past year.
Source: HM Land Registry, Census 2021, 2015-2025·Last updated March 2026
Place & Deprivation
Index of Multiple Deprivation 2019. Cornwall is ranked 83 out of 317 local authorities (1 = most deprived).
Ranked 83rd of 317 local authorities on the IMD (1 = most deprived). The most challenging domain is Living Environment (ranked 23rd), while Crime ranks comparatively better (270th).
Source: MHCLG English Indices of Deprivation, 2019·Last updated 2019
Impact Calculator
Estimate the economic impact of investment or job creation in Cornwall using regional input-output multipliers.
Source: Derived from ONS Supply-Use Tables, regionalized via SLQ, 2019·Last updated March 2026