What it's like to live in St Ives, Cornwall

Home ownership dominates in Cornwall at 66.2%, with 19.7% privately rented and only 12.8% social rented, split between housing association homes at 7.6% and council homes at 5.2%. That is below the England figure of 17.1%, so social tenancies in a town like St Ives do not come up often.

Social rents across Cornwall averaged £82 a week for a one bed, £94 for two beds and £106 for three beds in 2024/25. The largest social landlords in the council area are Cornwall Council with 10,488 homes, LiveWest with 9,741, Coastline Housing with 5,311, Ocean Housing with 4,414 and Westward Housing Group with 1,286.

The age profile tilts older than England's: 27.9% of Cornwall residents are 45 to 64 and 25.3% are 65 or over, with 21.4% aged 25 to 44. Cornwall's housing register held 23,731 households at 31 March 2025, and 1,422 social homes were let through the council in 2024-25, so demand is heavy.

Families are well served for schools within the town. St Ives Infant School and St Ives Junior School are both within half a mile of the centre, and St Uny CofE Academy at Carbis Bay is about a mile and a half away. Nancledra School sits a little under three miles out for those who prefer a small rural primary.

For older children, St Ives School is the local secondary, under a mile from the centre, so most teenagers can get to and from school without a long journey.

For time outside school, Trewyn Gardens and Memorial Gardens are both minutes away, and Palemon Best Recreation Ground and Menhyr Park give more room for running about and ball games. St Ives Library is in the town for books, warm indoor space and whatever children's activities it runs, and the Royal Cinema is a short walk away for a rainy afternoon. Across Cornwall, 16.3% of residents are under 16, a little below the England figure of 18.6%.

St Ives has its own railway station, about a quarter of a mile from the centre, with Carbis Bay just over a mile away and Lelant and Lelant Saltings within three miles. The branch line is a genuinely useful local link as well as a scenic one, and the stations at Lelant Saltings and Carbis Bay are handy park-and-ride style stops for the town.

There is a bus station in the town itself, a few minutes from the centre, which is the main link to the rest of west Cornwall for anyone without a car.

By road, St Ives is reached on narrow, hilly routes and parking in the town is limited and tightly managed, so a car is more of a mixed blessing here than in most towns. On foot, the centre is compact and most shops, the library, the pharmacy and the gardens are within half a mile, but the gradients are steep in places and the lanes are narrow. Anyone with mobility difficulties should look carefully at where a particular home sits.

For a town of this size, there is plenty. The Royal Cinema is right in the centre, and the pub scene is varied rather than samey, with The Kettle N Wink Bar, Mine Taproom, The Three Ferrets, The Pilchard Press Alehouse and The Union Inn all within a few minutes of each other.

Outdoors is the main draw. The coast is on the doorstep, and Memorial Gardens and Trewyn Gardens give sheltered, planted green space close to the harbour. Palemon Best Recreation Ground and Menhyr Park, both within a mile or so, suit walking, playing and simply getting away from the summer crowds.

St Ives Library doubles as an information service and a free place to spend time, and the St Ives Royal British Legion gives the town a community venue. Seasons matter here: the town is lively and busy from spring through to autumn, and considerably quieter in winter, which some people love and others find hard going.

Employment figures below are for the wider Cornwall council area rather than St Ives alone. Across Cornwall, 53.3% of adults are in work, below the England average of 57.4%, while unemployment is lower at 2.6% compared with 3.5% for England. In August 2026, 3% of working-age residents were claiming unemployment-related benefits, against 4% nationally.

That combination usually points to an economy with plenty of work but a lot of it part-year or part-time, and an older population: 25.3% of Cornwall residents are 65 or over, compared with 18.4% across England.

In St Ives itself, tourism and hospitality shape the working year, with pubs, cafes, shops and visitor businesses busiest in summer. If you need steady year-round hours, it is worth checking what is realistic before you commit. The train and bus links from the town widen the search to Hayle, Penzance and beyond without needing to drive.