Photo: Phil Williams · CC BY-SA 2.0Bourton is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 51.9
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, 6.7% of households have no car or van here. Lower than in 99% of UK towns: 0.4% of households live in a flat or apartment. At the 2021 Census Bourton was home to 626 people in 270 households. The census found that 97% of residents describe themselves as White British in the village.
Above 82% of UK towns: 27% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: one in ten residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 9.1%. To put it in context, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 7.2% in Bourton, less than in 81% 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%.
By class, just over a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 17% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%. Full-time students account for 4.6%.
Only 26% of households are one person living alone in Bourton
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.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.9%, below 77% of UK towns. On the census count, 27% of households have dependent children. The usual figure: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Above 78% of UK towns: 41% of households live in a detached house
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
Locally, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house.
More residents whose main language is English than 96% of UK towns: 99%
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 (3.3%) and in Africa (1%). Bourton has fewer residents born outside the UK than 62% of UK towns, at 5.3%. Across England’s towns, residents whose main language is English come to 90%.
Bourton ranks above 81% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 55%
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: 97% of Bourton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.4%), Indian (0.5%) and Mixed or multiple (0.2%). Lower than in 72% of UK towns: 37% of residents said they have no religion. The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A smaller share of adults who have never married than 84% of UK towns: 27%
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
22 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. At 11%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 87% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Married people and civil partners make up 52% of adults, against 44% across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications reach 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Bourton, 15%, while 33% hold one at degree level (34%).
Older than Bourton: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bourton | 626 | — | 51.9 | 27% | 27% |
| Mere | 2,808 | 2.8 mi | 55.4 | 35% | 17% |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 3.1 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 24% |
| Wincanton | 6,744 | 4 mi | 41.9 | 22% | 28% |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 5.6 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Bruton | 2,816 | 6.2 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 6.6 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 7.2 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
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 Bourton’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 Bourton’s residents
What is the population of Bourton?
The 2021 Census counted 626 people in Bourton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bourton?
The median age was 51.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bourton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bourton?
37% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bourton good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Bourton’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.