Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 890 in Dorset, South West.
Corfe Castle has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real. 127 listed buildings, 0 of them Grade I. Over-65s are 41% of the population. The median sale price is £570,000.
The 3 things Corfe Castle does most differently from other towns.
Historic England lists them inside Corfe Castle’s built-up area, along with 1 scheduled monument.
41% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Corfe Castle. Best known first.
Castle · National TrustCorfe Castle100 m outside town, to the north · 190K visitors a year (2010)
MuseumPurbeck Mining Museum700 m outside town, to the north
MuseumMuseum of Jurassic Marine Life4.4 km outside town, to the westMuseumMuseumCorfe Castle Town Trust Museumin townHistoric siteHistoric site · National TrustSpyway Dinosaur Footprints3.7 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Corfe Castle.
Typical age in Corfe Castle: 60.2, the median. Under 15: nearly one in ten residents. 8.3% of residents are 15 to 24, lower than both Dorset’s towns (11%) and England’s towns (12%).
53% women, 47% men
About 88 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.
| Corfe Castle | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.2% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 8.3% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 10% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 31% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 41% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 34% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The one school in town appears below. Key Stage 2 results at the one primary school within 3 km: 50% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Its one primary school teaches 87 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corfe Castle Church of England Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 87 | C− |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 34% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 19% of commuters at the census. About 13% of its commuters stay in Corfe Castle for work. Jobs per working resident: 1.1. Household income came to £51K a year before tax, close to Dorset’s towns (£52K) and below England’s towns (£55K).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
14% rent privately, below both Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). Private rents average £1,056 a month across the Dorset council area. Households that own their home make up 61%.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £719,000 | 18 |
| Semi-detached | £350,000 | 5 |
| Terraced | £374,500 | 8 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 6.7 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Dorset’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (9.4). Corfe Castle logged 18 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 6 complaints of anti-social conduct. Violence and sexual offences were 56% of the crimes.
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Just over a fifth of residents in Corfe Castle live with a disability, and on top of that at the census, 6.8% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both Dorset’s towns (5.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). One GP practice serves the town; 97% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. The nearest A&E to Corfe Castle is Poole Hospital, 7.2 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Corfe Castle | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.8% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 21% | 19% | 17% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Corfe Castle’s land, 54% lies in conservation areas, above Dorset’s towns (15%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. This Dorset town has 127 listed buildings on Historic England’s list: 5 Grade II*. Homes built before 1919 account for 41% of the housing.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corfe Castle | 890 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Swanage | 9,115 | 4 | C− | D− | B | B− |
| Wareham | 5,876 | 5.1 | C | D− | B− | B |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 5.5 | — | D | A | B+ |
| Upton | 8,401 | 7.3 | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Poole | 141,009 | 8.2 | C+ | D | C | C+ |
| Wool | 5,044 | 8.7 | C | C− | B+ | C+ |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 8.8 | A− | D− | A | A− |
Sandford has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
That is 58.6 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
By type: terraced houses £374,500, semi-detached houses £350,000 and detached houses £719,000.
Band D council tax in Corfe Castle is £2,708 for 2026–27, more than in 96% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire, plus the parish or town council). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Village in Dorset, England
Corfe Castle is a built-up area of 890 people, in the Dorset council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.