Photo: Andrew Smith · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer households without a car or van than 98% of UK towns: 5.6%
Here 31% of households have dependent children, where the figure across England’s towns is 29%. 1,487 residents in 612 households: that is Charlton Down at the 2021 Census. The census found that 25% of households are one person living alone locally. The village has fewer households in terraced houses than 71% of UK towns, at 15%.
What the Census says about Charlton Down’s people
A village of flats
35% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 97% of UK towns. 5.6% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Older than 58% of UK towns: half of Charlton Down is over 45.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 74% of UK towns. In Ashley Heath, the oldest of Dorset’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
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.
Above 63% of UK towns: 5.1% of adults are full-time students
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 is 12%, against 11% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Bigger households than 70% of UK towns: 2.4 people each on average
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: 2.8% here and 4.3% across England’s towns.
In Charlton Down, 35% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 97% 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
On the census count, 30% of households live in a detached house. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%.
Charlton Down: 7.3% of residents were born outside the UK, above 59% of UK towns
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 17% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.2%). Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
In Charlton Down, 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 51% 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: 92% of Charlton Down · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Pakistani (0.7%). To put it in context, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Set against 46% across England’s towns, half of residents describe themselves as Christian in Charlton Down.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 74% of UK towns, at 52%
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 care takes 50 hours a week or more for 33 people. 29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 73% of UK towns. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care; in Charlton Down, 7.4%.
Qualified to degree level: 41% of adults
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 Charlton Down, 41%, and 9.8% have none, against 18%.
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Charlton Down
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | — | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 1.3 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 3 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 4.9 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | 5.3 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 6.8 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
| Milborne St Andrew | 1,090 | 7.9 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 21% |
| Chickerell | 3,973 | 9.2 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Charlton Down’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 Charlton Down’s residents
What is the population of Charlton Down?
The 2021 Census counted 1,487 people in Charlton Down’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Charlton Down?
The median age was 45.6 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Charlton Down?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Charlton Down?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.5% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Charlton Down good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Charlton Down’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.