Morn Lodge · Photo: N Chadwick · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 85% of UK towns, at 96%
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over one in ten households have no car or van here. Chickerell’s 1,716 households held 3,973 residents at the 2021 Census. 27% of households live in a terraced house. Lower than in 69% of UK towns: 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
What the Census says about Chickerell’s people
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Chickerell at 2,800 in 2011 and 4,000 in 2024, up 43%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 97% 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.
Growth of +43% since 2011 puts Chickerell ahead of 97% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Chickerell’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 2,800 people in 2011; 4,000 in 2024.
The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 160 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+57%), the 45 to 64 group the smallest (+30%).
Fewer young people than 60% of UK towns: 9.5% are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 23%, against 18% across England’s towns. With a median age of 45.3, Chickerell is older than 56% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Chickerell, 45.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Chickerell sits below 68% of UK towns for full-time students (4.4%)
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%.
A third of Chickerell’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Locally, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Against that, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 2.2% in Chickerell, less than in 57% 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.
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Chickerell comes in at 29%. Each household has 2.3 people on average. 27% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 54% of UK towns. The usual figure: 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Chickerell ranks above 55% of UK towns on households in detached houses: 31%
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
Census figures put households in flats at 10% in Chickerell. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
Only 4.2% of residents were born outside the UK in Chickerell
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
In Chickerell, 98% of residents have English as their main language, beside 90% across England’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%). Against that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns.
No religion: 43% of residents, a higher share than 67% 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: 96% of Chickerell · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Chinese (0.3%). To put it in context, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Lower than in nearly three fifths of UK towns: 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
In Chickerell, 50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 65% 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
Set against 8.7% across England’s towns, 9.9% of residents give unpaid care in Chickerell. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns.
26% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Chickerell’s adults: 26% with a degree-level qualification and 16% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Among 530 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people, the 206th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Chickerell in age: Westerham (45.3), Cranbrook (45.3), Chirk (45.3) and Langley Park (45.4).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Chickerell
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chickerell | 3,973 | — | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Weymouth | 55,540 | 1.6 mi | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Fortuneswell | 4,554 | 4.8 mi | 45.9 | 18% | 24% |
| Weston | 5,208 | 6 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Grove | 1,032 | 6 mi | 33.9 | 12% | 30% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 6.6 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Southwell | 1,700 | 6.8 mi | 55 | 33% | 19% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
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 Chickerell’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. Chickerell’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 3,616 people in 2021, against 3,973 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 Chickerell’s residents
What is the population of Chickerell?
The 2021 Census counted 3,973 people in Chickerell’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,000 people in mid-2024, 43% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Chickerell?
The median age was 45.3 at the 2021 Census, older than 56% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Chickerell?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 4.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Chickerell?
43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Chickerell good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Chickerell’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.