Two sections of Roman road on Barrow Hill and Corfe Hills · Photo: TJC · CC BY-SA 2.5A smaller share of households without a car or van than 96% of UK towns: 6.7%
21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 57% in Corfe Mullen. In Corfe Mullen, 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. On one-person households, Corfe Mullen sits lower than 88% of UK towns: 24%. The town is home to 10,036 residents in 4,170 households, by the 2021 Census.
A change of +5% since 2011 leaves Corfe Mullen behind 60% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Corfe Mullen’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,200 people in 2011; 10,700 in 2024.
Between mid-2021 and mid-2022 the population rose by 110, its biggest one-year gain. The 65 and over age group changed most (+34%) and the 16 to 29 least (−4%).
Corfe Mullen is older than 73% of UK towns: a median age of 47.8
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 8% of residents. 24% of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 69% of UK towns. In Ashley Heath, the oldest of Dorset’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Corfe Mullen, 47.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 52% of UK towns: 4.8%
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%.
By class, 39% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 19% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Across England’s towns, full-time students come to 7.9%. Residents who moved in within the year account for 8.6%.
Larger households than 78% of UK towns: 2.4 people 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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Corfe Mullen. Households with dependent children account for 28%.
15% of households live in a terraced house, below 70% 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
Households in flats: 9.2% here and 23% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Above 90% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language
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 Corfe Mullen, 5.2% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) and in Africa (1%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 79% 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: 95% of Corfe Mullen · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as Christian trails 64% of UK towns: 48%. Census figures put residents with no religion at 45% in Corfe Mullen. For comparison, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 55%, a higher share than 88% 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
253 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Across the comparison, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 62% of UK towns.
Qualified to degree level: 32% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 32% of Corfe Mullen’s adults, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have no qualification (18%).
106th oldest of 455 UK towns of 7,000 to 14,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Stoke Gifford (27.8), the youngest, and Seaton (61), the oldest. Nearest to Corfe Mullen in age: Cheadle (47.6), Borrowash (47.7), Monmouth (47.9) and Caerleon (47.9).
Around Corfe Mullen, 4 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | — | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 2.4 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 2.5 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 2.7 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 3.1 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 3.2 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 3.6 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 3.9 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
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 Corfe Mullen’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. Corfe Mullen’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,373 people in 2021, against 10,036 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 Corfe Mullen’s residents
What is the population of Corfe Mullen?
The 2021 Census counted 10,036 people in Corfe Mullen’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,700 people in mid-2024, 5% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Corfe Mullen?
The median age was 47.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 73% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Corfe Mullen?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Corfe Mullen?
45% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Corfe Mullen good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Corfe Mullen’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.