Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Beacon Hill is over 59.6
63% of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). Census day 2021: 330 residents and 146 households in Beacon Hill. Here, 12% of households have dependent children. Few places have so few households in terraced houses: 13% here, fewer than in 79% of UK towns.
39% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 60–64: 10% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Across Beacon Hill, 7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Beacon Hill ranks below 92% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.7%
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%.
9.7% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
Beacon Hill households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
By its share of one-person households (27%), Beacon Hill is below 71% of UK towns. More shared households of unrelated adults than in 95% of UK towns: 4.8%.
A lower share of households without a car or van than 99% of UK towns, at 4.9%
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
Here 4.2% of households live in a flat or apartment, where the figure across England’s towns is 23%. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
Beacon Hill sits above 99% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (100%)
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.5%). The usual figure: 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, Beacon Hill sits lower than nearly two thirds of UK towns: 4.8%.
55% describe themselves as Christian, more than in 79% 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: 95% of Beacon Hill · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Caribbean (0.3%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here, more than in 72% of UK towns. For comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. 42% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%).
A larger share of unpaid carers than 95% 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
9 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The wider picture: 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 24% here, fewer than in 95% of UK towns. By contrast, the share of married adults and civil partners is 51%, against 44% across England’s towns.
26% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
26% of Beacon Hill’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 20% have none (18%).
Every nearby town is younger than Beacon Hill
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beacon Hill | 330 | — | 59.6 | 39% | 12% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 1 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 1.7 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 2.4 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 2.4 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 4.2 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 4.4 mi | 52 | 29% | 26% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 4.7 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Dorset’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Dorset (or England), summed the same way as Beacon Hill’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 Beacon Hill’s residents
What is the population of Beacon Hill?
The 2021 Census counted 330 people in Beacon Hill’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Beacon Hill?
The median age was 59.6 at the 2021 Census. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Beacon Hill?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Beacon Hill?
42% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 3.6% didn’t answer.
Is Beacon Hill good for families?
12% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Beacon Hill’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.