Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0In Bearwood, 6.7% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 96% of UK towns
Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. Few places have so few residents aged 15 to 24: 9% here, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. Bearwood’s 1,725 households held 4,134 residents at the 2021 Census. Households in detached houses: 51% of the total.
What the Census says about Bearwood’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Bearwood at 4,200 in 2011 and 5,100 in 2024, up 22%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 88% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Since 2011, Bearwood has grown +22%, faster than 88% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Bearwood’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,200 people in 2011; 5,100 in 2024.
Mid-2022 to mid-2023 brought the biggest yearly rise, 290 people. Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+53%) and the 45 to 64 least (−5%).
Younger than 68% of UK towns: half of Bearwood is under 42.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 30–34 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents. In Bearwood, 21% of residents are 65 or over, beside 18% across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bearwood, 42.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 4.1%, a lower share than 82% of UK towns
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%.
At 11%, the share of residents who moved in within the year is in line with the figure across England’s towns. As a reference point, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.4 people per household, more than in 79% 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.
3.3% of households are unrelated adults living together, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Here, 27% of households have dependent children.
6.5% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 75% of UK towns
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
By its share of households in terraced houses (23%), Bearwood is above 63% of UK towns.
Bearwood ranks above 62% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 7.7%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 97% of residents have English as their main language here. The largest groups were born in EU countries (3.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.7%). On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 77% of UK towns, at 45%
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: 91% of Bearwood · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 46%, close to the figure across England’s towns. As a reference point, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. On the census count, just over nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British.
52% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 76% of UK towns
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 115. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 10%, more than in 77% of UK towns. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Bearwood, 33%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 28%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Bearwood, 28%, and 12% have none, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 143rd youngest of 695 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Bearwood in age: Northway (42.2), Boreham (42.2), Exminster (42.2) and Bagillt (42.2).
Median age: 6 of the 7 towns around Bearwood are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearwood | 4,134 | — | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 1.9 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 2.5 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 2.6 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 3.1 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Bournemouth | 196,453 | 3.6 mi | 39.1 | 18% | 25% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 3.9 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
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 Bearwood’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. Bearwood’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,471 people in 2021, against 4,134 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 Bearwood’s residents
What is the population of Bearwood?
The 2021 Census counted 4,134 people in Bearwood’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,100 people in mid-2024, 22% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Bearwood?
The median age was 42.2 at the 2021 Census, younger than 68% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bearwood?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bearwood?
45% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Bearwood good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bearwood’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.