Dorset demographics.
Dorset · Census 2023 · latest available data
A data-driven statistical profile of Dorset — town populations, census figures, and key demographic indicators drawn from the latest available official data.
Population
67,736,802
World share: 0.84 %
Median age
40.1
Global rank: #21
Urban population
85.5 %
57,900,076 people
Density
280 / km²
People per km²
Fertility rate
1.57
Births per woman
- 01 / Population
Who lives here, and how that is changing.
Headline population counts, density and household structure, with the six-year growth trend.
- Population basics
- Total population
- 67,736,8022023
- Population density
- 280 / km²UK average
- Yearly change
- 0.34 %227,866
- Urban population
- 85.5 %57,900,076
- Net migration
- 165,790Annual net
- World population
- 0.84 %8,045,311,447
- Population trend
Total resident population in thousands. A rising line means net growth from births and inward migration.
- 02 / Age & gender
The shape of the population pyramid.
Age band distribution split by gender, with dependency and vital statistics.
- Age pyramid
Share of the total population in each age band, split by gender - wide middle bands indicate a strong working-age base.
- Vital statistics
- Median age
- 39.4 yrs40.2 yrs
- Dependency ratio
- 58.456.9
- Male
- 49.3%49.0%
- Female
- 50.7%51.0%
- Aged 65+
- 16.4%18.4%
- 03 / Housing & households
Tenure, dwelling type and household composition.
Census 2021 housing indicators for the area, benchmarked against England.
- Tenure & conditions
- Home ownership
- 61.0%62.5%
- Social rented
- 17.0%17.1%
- Private rented
- 22.0%20.4%
- Overcrowded households
- 6.1%8.4%
- No central heating
- 1.3%1.5%
- Property type mix
Composition of the housing stock by build type, as a share of all dwellings.
- Tenure split
How households occupy their homes - the owned versus rented balance drives local market liquidity.
- 04 / Employment & economy
Where the jobs and the output are.
Labour market headlines and the sector composition of local employment.
- Labour market
- Economically active
- 76.2%75.7%
- Unemployed
- 3.4%3.5%
- Full-time employees
- 42.1%41.6%
- Self-employed
- 11.8%12.4%
- Students (economically active)
- 5.6%5.2%
- Retired
- 20.9%21.6%
- Top employment sectors
Share of total employment by industry - a concentrated profile signals exposure to one sector's cycle.
- 05 / Education & qualifications
Attainment and the local skills base.
School performance and the qualification profile of working-age residents.
- Attainment & schools
- Level 4+ qualification
- 40.2%33.9%
- No qualifications
- 16.0%18.1%
- Apprenticeship
- 5.1%5.3%
- Full-time students 16+
- 8.4%7.9%
- Schoolchildren aged 5–15
- 12.6%12.4%
- Qualification levels
Highest qualification held by residents aged 16+. Level 4+ covers degree-level and above.
- 06 / Health & wellbeing
Life expectancy, access and deprivation.
Population health outcomes alongside primary care capacity and deprivation ranking.
- Health indicators
- Very good health
- 48.6%48.5%
- Good health
- 33.1%33.7%
- Bad or very bad health
- 5.8%5.2%
- Disabled (day-to-day limited)
- 18.2%17.3%
- Provides unpaid care
- 9.1%8.9%
- Life expectancy (male)
- 79.1 yrs79.4 yrs
- Life expectancy (female)
- 82.9 yrs83.1 yrs
- Healthy life expectancy
- 62.4 yrs63.1 yrs
- IMD decile
- 5 of 10-
- Deprivation
5
IMD decile out of 10 (1 = most deprived). The United Kingdom shows variation across regions, with pockets of both high affluence and concentrated deprivation.
- 07 / Ethnicity, language & religion
The cultural make-up of the area.
Census-based breakdowns of ethnic group, country of birth, language and religion.
- Ethnic group
Share of residents by broad census ethnic group.
- Religion
Stated religion at the last census, as a share of residents.
- Origin & language
- Born in the UK
- 83.6%83.2%
- Born outside the UK
- 16.4%16.8%
- English as main language
- 94.2%91.1%
- Cannot speak English well
- 1.4%1.9%
- 08 / Transport & commuting
How people move around.
Commuting modes, journey times, car ownership and network connectivity.
- Mode of travel to work
Primary commute mode for working residents, including those who mainly work from home.
- Network & journey times
- Average commute
- 29 min28 min
- No car or van
- 24.0%23.5%
- 2+ cars or vans
- 34.0%33.1%
- Work mainly from home
- 17.0%21.0%
- Car ownership
Households by number of cars or vans available.
— 09 / Political & administrative
Who governs, and how engaged residents are.
Administrative structure, council tax levels, political control and turnout.
— Governance
- Parliamentary constituencies
- 12
- Council type
- Metropolitan / two-tier
- Council tax (Band D)
- £2,148
- Political control
- Labour majority
- General election turnout
- 62.4%
- Local election turnout
- 31.8%
— 10 / Crime & safety
Recorded crime and its composition.
Police.uk recorded offences, normalised per 1,000 residents and split by offence type.
— Headline rates
- Crime rate per 1,000
- 94.689.7
- Police force
- West Yorkshire Police—
- Year-on-year change
- -2.8%-1.4%
— Crime type breakdown
Share of all recorded offences by category over the last 12 months.
— 11 / Environment & climate
Green space, air quality and climate risk.
Environmental quality indicators and exposure to flooding across the area.
— Environmental indicators
- Green space coverage
- 38.4%40.1%
- NO₂ (annual mean)
- 21 µg/m³18 µg/m³
- PM2.5 (annual mean)
- 9.4 µg/m³9.1 µg/m³
- Area at flood risk
- 6.2%8.0%
- Annual rainfall
- 812 mm838 mm
- Sunshine hours
- 1,4101,493
— 12 / UK Cities
Population of major UK cities.
Top 10 UK cities by population, sourced from the latest available census and administrative data.
| # | City | Population |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 7,556,900 |
| 2 | Birmingham | 984,333 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 864,122 |
| 4 | Nottingham | 729,977 |
| 5 | Sheffield | 685,368 |
| 6 | Bristol | 617,280 |
| 7 | Glasgow | 591,620 |
| 8 | Leicester | 508,916 |
| 9 | Edinburgh | 464,990 |
| 10 | Leeds | 455,123 |
— 12b / County Towns
Town populations within the county.
Built-up area populations across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| # | Town | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Weymouth | 52,989 | 54,463 | 55,543 |
| 2 | Dorchester | 16,170 | 19,060 | 21,366 |
| 3 | Wimborne Minster | 15,034 | 15,359 | 16,630 |
| 4 | Verwood | 12,068 | 13,360 | 13,716 |
| 5 | Ferndown | 11,446 | 12,348 | 13,268 |
| 6 | Bridport | 11,734 | 12,484 | 12,287 |
| 7 | Blandford Forum | 9,854 | 11,352 | 11,796 |
| 8 | Gillingham | 8,862 | 11,278 | 11,007 |
| 9 | West Moors | 10,214 | 10,691 | 10,434 |
| 10 | Sherborne | 9,349 | 9,523 | 10,365 |
| 11 | Corfe Mullen | 9,820 | 9,781 | 10,042 |
| 12 | Shaftesbury | 6,665 | 7,314 | 9,162 |
| 13 | Swanage | 9,842 | 9,361 | 9,113 |
| 14 | Upton | 7,576 | 7,938 | 8,403 |
| 15 | Ashley Heath | 6,210 | 6,320 | 7,152 |
| 16 | Wareham | 5,665 | 5,496 | 5,877 |
| 17 | Weston | 4,890 | 5,090 | 5,211 |
| 18 | Wool | 3,850 | 4,956 | 5,045 |
| 19 | Fortuneswell | 4,350 | 4,013 | 4,553 |
| 20 | Chickerell | 3,094 | 3,340 | 3,975 |
| 21 | Lyme Regis | 3,513 | 3,671 | 3,743 |
| 22 | West Parley | 3,532 | 3,585 | 3,659 |
| 23 | Sturminster Newton | 2,506 | 3,501 | 3,566 |
| 24 | Lytchett Matravers | 3,200 | 3,315 | 3,456 |
| 25 | Beaminster | 2,791 | 2,957 | 2,992 |
| 26 | Alderholt | 2,793 | 2,848 | 2,872 |
| 27 | Pimperne | 2,280 | 2,588 | 2,768 |
| 28 | Crossways | 2,019 | 2,267 | 2,493 |
| 29 | Stalbridge | 2,261 | 2,396 | 2,369 |
| 30 | Sandford | 2,088 | 2,096 | 1,996 |
| 31 | Charminster | 1,293 | 1,366 | 1,732 |
| 32 | Southwell | 1,440 | 1,772 | 1,700 |
| 33 | Sturminster Marshall | 1,424 | 1,490 | 1,507 |
| 34 | Charlton Down | 561 | 1,431 | 1,485 |
| 35 | Marnhull | 1,420 | 1,469 | 1,465 |
| 36 | Motcombe | 1,404 | 1,474 | 1,369 |
| 37 | Charmouth | 1,340 | 1,352 | 1,338 |
| 38 | Bere Regis | 1,358 | 1,304 | 1,317 |
| 39 | Bradpole | 1,243 | 1,253 | 1,256 |
| 40 | Puddletown | 967 | 1,158 | 1,194 |
| 41 | Shillingstone | 1,008 | 1,170 | 1,165 |
| 42 | Child Okeford | 1,065 | 1,114 | 1,160 |
| 43 | Three Legged Cross | 1,256 | 1,154 | 1,127 |
| 44 | Maiden Newton | 952 | 1,119 | 1,127 |
| 45 | Milborne St Andrew | 1,042 | 1,062 | 1,089 |
| 46 | Charlton Marshall | 1,029 | 1,026 | 1,086 |
| 47 | Grove | 1,088 | 990 | 1,032 |
| 48 | Bryanston | 968 | 925 | 999 |
| 49 | Bradford Abbas | 999 | 975 | 973 |
| 50 | Iwerne Minster | 890 | 978 | 932 |
| 51 | Thornford | 920 | 939 | 899 |
| 52 | Corfe Castle | 984 | 946 | 889 |
| 53 | Yetminster | 792 | 809 | 888 |
| 54 | Langton Matravers | 973 | 853 | 869 |
| 55 | Stoborough | 885 | 869 | 867 |
| 56 | Cerne Abbas | 742 | 784 | 866 |
| 57 | Okeford Fitzpaine | 769 | 737 | 805 |
| 58 | Mosterton | 626 | 604 | 773 |
| 59 | Hazelbury Bryan | 576 | 734 | 738 |
| 60 | Winterborne Whitechurch | 694 | 757 | 734 |
| 61 | Winterborne Kingston | 613 | 643 | 719 |
| 62 | West Knighton | 749 | 711 | 719 |
| 63 | Chideock | 686 | 686 | 701 |
| 64 | Burton Bradstock | 735 | 682 | 688 |
| 65 | Sixpenny Handley | 632 | 657 | 649 |
| 66 | Bourton | 482 | 552 | 628 |
| 67 | Portesham | 593 | 566 | 610 |
| 68 | Broadmayne | 556 | 557 | 606 |
| 69 | East Stour | 548 | 573 | 603 |
| 70 | Spetisbury | 542 | 555 | 586 |
| 71 | Cranborne | 627 | 606 | 579 |
| 72 | Broadwindsor | 564 | 558 | 551 |
| 73 | Longburton | 435 | 470 | 525 |
| 74 | Tolpuddle | 358 | 452 | 517 |
— 13 / English Regions
Regional population comparison.
Population figures for English regions across the 2001, 2011 and 2021 census years.
| Region | 2001 | 2011 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Midlands | 4,172,174 | 4,533,222 | 4,880,054 |
| East of England | 5,388,140 | 5,846,965 | 6,335,074 |
| North East England | 2,515,442 | 2,596,886 | 2,647,013 |
| North West England | 6,729,764 | 7,052,177 | 7,417,397 |
| South East England | 8,000,645 | 8,634,750 | 9,278,065 |
| South West England | 4,928,434 | 5,288,935 | 5,701,186 |
| West Midlands | 5,267,308 | 5,601,847 | 5,950,757 |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | 4,964,833 | 5,283,733 | 5,480,777 |
— Data sources
- ONS — population, age, ethnicity, housing
- Nomis — employment, earnings, qualifications
- Census 2021 (Nomis) — area vs England comparisons
- Police.uk — crime data
- MHCLG — Index of Multiple Deprivation
- Postcodes.io / GeoNames — boundary mapping