Photo: Clive Perrin · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 99% of UK towns: half of Child Okeford is over 60.3
Households without a car or van: 5.7%, below 98% of UK towns. Still, more married adults and civil partners than in 97% of UK towns: 59%. Child Okeford had 1,159 residents in 537 households at the 2021 Census. 17% of households have dependent children.
What the Census says about Child Okeford’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Child Okeford’s residents are under 60.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 42% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
138 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 98% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Child Okeford sits above 99% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (42%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: 11% of residents, 2.2 times the share across England’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 99% of UK towns: 6.8%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
3.4% of adults are full-time students, below 96% 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%.
11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, against 9.4% in Child Okeford. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 93% 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.
29% of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). Lower than in 67% of UK towns: 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in flats make up 1.5% in Child Okeford, less than in 98% 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
58% of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). The share of households in terraced houses stands at 8.8%. Across England’s towns, households in flats come to 23%.
9.4% born outside the UK, more than in 72% 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
The largest groups were born in Africa (3.5%) and in EU countries (3%). Child Okeford has more residents whose main language is English than 77% of UK towns, at 99%. As a reference point, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 7.3%.
Above 97% of UK towns: 63% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Child Okeford · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.9%), Chinese (0.1%) and Mixed or multiple (0.1%). As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 82% of UK towns: 96%. Residents with no religion: 31% here and 37% across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 19%
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
Some 53 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. At 12%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 98% of UK towns. To put it in context, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 41% of adults in Child Okeford (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 14% (England’s towns: 18%).
Every neighbour of Child Okeford has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | — | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 1.4 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 2.9 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 5.1 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 5.1 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 6 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 6.7 mi | 55.6 | 35% | 20% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 6.8 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 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 Child Okeford’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 Child Okeford’s residents
What is the population of Child Okeford?
The 2021 Census counted 1,159 people in Child Okeford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Child Okeford?
The median age was 60.3 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Child Okeford?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 9.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Child Okeford?
31% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Child Okeford good for families?
17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Child Okeford’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.