Photo: Colin Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0

57.7Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021 & mid-year estimates

A median age of 57.7: Beaminster is older than 98% of UK towns

The average household has 2 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Households with dependent children account for 17%. Few places have so few adults who have never married: 24% here, fewer than in 95% of UK towns. Beaminster’s 1,501 households held 2,995 residents at the 2021 Census.

+5%people since 2011 39%aged 65 or over 6.6%born abroad 1,501households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Beaminster’s people

57.7median age, older than 98% of UK towns

Older than most towns

Half of Beaminster’s residents are under 57.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 39% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓

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.

Population since 2011

Slower than most: +5% since 2011, behind 62% of UK towns

ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Beaminster’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.

People, mid-2011 = 100

BeaminsterEnglandAll of Dorset

Change by age, 2011 to 2024

BeaminsterEngland

0 to 15−8%

16 to 29+9%

30 to 44−4%

45 to 64−1%

65 and over+17%

About 3,000 people in 2011; 3,100 in 2024.

Mid-2021 to mid-2022 brought the biggest yearly rise, 90 people. Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+17%) and weakest among the 0 to 15 (−8%).

Ages

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.

BeaminsterEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Where just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Beaminster has 7.7%. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Beaminster, 57.7. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1512%

15 to 247.7%

25 to 4415%

45 to 6426%

65 and over39%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

53% women, 47% men

Beaminster

England

WomenMen

About 90 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.

Students & newcomers

Fewer full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 2.6%

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

Full-time students2.6%

Higher managerial and professional12%

Lower managerial and professional21%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed16%

Supervisory and technical5.9%

Semi-routine14%

Routine11%

Never worked or long-term unemployed5.8%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Beaminster

10%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

295

residents, 9.9%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

0.7× England’s share

A third of Beaminster’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 9.9%.

Households

35% of households are one person living alone, more than in 87% of UK towns

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 24%Living alone, under 66 11%Families with dependent children 17%Couples and families, no young children 46%Shared houses and other 2.3%

Against Dorset’s towns and England’s towns

Beaminster

Dorset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person35%

2 people44%

3 people10%

4 people7.8%

5 or more3.1%

England’s towns.

Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.3% in Beaminster. The usual figure: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.

Homes & cars

16% of households live in a flat, more than in 72% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Beaminster

Dorset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van14%

One48%

Two28%

Three or more10%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

37% of households live in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns. Locally, 14% of households have no car or van. The comparison figure for households in flats is 23% across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Above 81% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language

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%

Beaminster

6.6%

Dorset’s towns

11%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

BeaminsterEngland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well1.1%

Another main language, little or no English0%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). For residents whose main language is English, the comparison across England’s towns is 90%. 6.6% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

Above 77% of UK towns: 54% of residents describe themselves as Christian

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

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White4%

Asian1.1%

Mixed0.7%

Black0.1%

Other0.5%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 94% of Beaminster · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion37%

Christian54%

Muslim0.4%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.8%

Other religion0.4%

Didn’t answer7.3%

0%30%60%

The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (4%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Pakistani (0.4%). 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 63% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. At 37%, residents with no religion sit close to the figure across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

Beaminster sits above 85% of UK towns for unpaid carers (11%)

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership24%

Married or civil partnership52%

Separated2%

Divorced11%

Widowed11%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

313residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 11%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week5.5%

20 to 49 hours1.6%

50 hours or more3.7%

Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 107 people. On average, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners are more common here than in 76% of UK towns.

Qualifications

Adults qualified to degree level or above: 34%

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications17%

Apprenticeship7.4%

A levels or similar16%

Degree level34%

BeaminsterDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

With 34% of its adults qualified to degree level, Beaminster compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 17% hold no qualification (18%).

Towns its size

Ranked by age, 18th oldest of 514 UK towns this size

Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Beaminster 57.7

KeeleWest ChiltingtonSherburn

194265

The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Beaminster in age: Wootton (56.7), Addingham (57.1), West Parley (57.7) and Corbridge (57.9).

Neighbours

Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Beaminster

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

BradpoleMistertonBridportCrewkerneMerriottMaiden NewtonCharmouthBeaminster

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Beaminster	2,995	—	57.7	39%	17%
Bradpole	1,257	4.3 mi	50.3	29%	23%
Misterton	1,037	4.5 mi	50.4	27%	21%
Bridport	12,294	5.4 mi	56.2	35%	17%
Crewkerne	7,067	5.5 mi	49.6	28%	22%
Merriott	2,068	7.2 mi	51.3	30%	23%
Maiden Newton	1,128	7.7 mi	49.7	28%	25%
Charmouth	1,337	8.6 mi	61.8	46%	16%

More about Beaminster’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health BLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commute DIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living DOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools C⁻Every primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Beaminster’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. Beaminster’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 2,995 people in 2021, against 2,995 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 Beaminster’s residents

What is the population of Beaminster?

The 2021 Census counted 2,995 people in Beaminster’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 3,100 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.

What is the average age in Beaminster?

The median age was 57.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 98% of UK towns. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 39% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Beaminster?

94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Beaminster?

37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.

Is Beaminster good for families?

17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Beaminster’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. 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.