Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 98% of UK towns: half of Cheselbourne is over 56.5
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put Cheselbourne’s population at 305, in 131 households. The census found that 4.6% of households have no car or van in the village. The share of married adults and civil partners is 64%, against 44% across England’s towns.
Residents aged 65 and over: 30%, a higher share than 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 13% of residents, 2.4 times the share across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. For Cheselbourne, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 8.6%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 9.6% in Cheselbourne, more than in 67% 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%.
Across England’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Cheselbourne, 38% and 19%. Few places have so few full-time students: 4.8% here, fewer than in 50% of UK towns. Residents who moved in within the year: 11% across England’s towns, for comparison.
21% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 97% 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.
At 4.6%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is in line with the figure across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Locally, just over a fifth of households have dependent children.
Households in detached houses make up 67% in Cheselbourne, more than in 99% 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
With households in terraced houses at 13%, Cheselbourne is behind 80% of UK towns on that count. On average, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 82% of UK towns: 3.7%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.3%). Across the comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. More residents whose main language is English than in 65% of UK towns: 98%.
In Cheselbourne, 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 94% 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: 97% of Cheselbourne · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian tops 87% of UK towns: 57%. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as White British come to 73%. Locally, 32% of residents said they have no religion.
Cheselbourne sits below 93% of UK towns for adults who have never married (25%)
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
In Cheselbourne, 7.3% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns. For 6 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 41%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
41% of Cheselbourne’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 15% have none (18%).
The towns around Cheselbourne are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheselbourne | 305 | — | 56.5 | 30% | 22% |
| Milborne St Andrew | 1,090 | 2.9 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 21% |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 3.6 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 6.1 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
| Bere Regis | 1,320 | 6.1 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 6.9 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 7.1 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 7.7 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
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 Cheselbourne’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 Cheselbourne’s residents
What is the population of Cheselbourne?
The 2021 Census counted 305 people in Cheselbourne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cheselbourne?
The median age was 56.5 at the 2021 Census. 8.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cheselbourne?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cheselbourne?
32% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.5% didn’t answer.
Is Cheselbourne good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cheselbourne’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.