Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Bridport is over 56.2, older than 97% of UK towns
In Bridport the average household is 2 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. The town counted 12,294 residents and 6,153 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 17% of households have dependent children. Fewer adults who have never married than in 77% of UK towns: 29%.
What the Census says about Bridport’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Bridport’s residents are under 56.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% 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).
35% of Bridport is 65 or over, a higher share than 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across England’s towns, 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Bridport. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bridport, 56.2. The typical town is 44.4.
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.
Only 3.3% of adults are full-time students in Bridport
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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year tops 55% of UK towns: 8.9%. Across England’s towns, the share of full-time students is 7.9%.
39% of households are one person living alone, more than in 98% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.4%, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of one-person households is 30%.
Bridport sits above 71% of UK towns for households without a car or van (20%)
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
Nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; across England’s towns the figure is 24%. In one household in 5 there is no car or van. Households in flats are more common here than in 89% of UK towns.
More residents whose main language is English than 70% of UK towns: 98%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.7%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). Against that, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Lower than in 51% of UK towns: 6.3% of residents were born outside the UK. Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 11%.
Residents with no religion make up 43% in Bridport, more than in 66% 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: 94% of Bridport · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (48%), Bridport is below 64% of UK towns. Typically, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Across Bridport, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British.
A lower share of married adults and civil partners than 56% of UK towns, at 47%
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
One in ten residents give unpaid care, against 8.7% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 350.
31% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Bridport, 31% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 18% have no qualification at all (18%).
From a median age of 55 in Burton Bradstock & Chideock to 57 in Bridport South & West Bay
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Bridport South & West Bay is the oldest area, with 38% aged 65 or over; Burton Bradstock & Chideock the youngest (median age 55). Families with children are most common in Burton Bradstock & Chideock (21% of households).
382 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people: this is the 7th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Bridport in age: Hythe (55.5), Shanklin (55.8), Swanage (56.4) and West Moors (56.5).
3 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bridport
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bridport | 12,294 | — | 56.2 | 35% | 17% |
| Bradpole | 1,257 | 1.3 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Beaminster | 2,995 | 5.4 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 17% |
| Charmouth | 1,337 | 6.3 mi | 61.8 | 46% | 16% |
| Lyme Regis | 3,741 | 7.9 mi | 59.9 | 40% | 16% |
| Uplyme | 1,053 | 8.6 mi | 54 | 29% | 25% |
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | 8.8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
| Misterton | 1,037 | 9.7 mi | 50.4 | 27% | 21% |
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 Bridport’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 Bridport’s residents
What is the population of Bridport?
The 2021 Census counted 12,294 people in Bridport’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Bridport?
The median age was 56.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bridport?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bridport?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.3% didn’t answer.
Is Bridport good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Burton Bradstock & Chideock (21% of households). Schools are on Bridport’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) · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.