Photo: David Martin · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents who describe themselves as White British: 97%, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
Against a figure of 39% across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Cranborne comes in at 27%. The village had 579 residents and 248 households at the 2021 Census, with a median age of 48.6. Households with dependent children account for 24%. 9.3% of households have no car or van, a lower share than in 86% of UK towns.
A median age of 48.6: Cranborne is older than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24; in Cranborne, 11%. On the census count, a quarter of residents are 65 or over.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
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.
7.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 73% 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%.
In Cranborne, 4.9% of adults are full-time students, beside 7.9% across England’s towns. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
A larger share of shared households of unrelated adults than 88% of UK towns: 3.6%
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.
30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns, against 31% in Cranborne. Elsewhere, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. A household here holds 2.3 people on average.
Below 74% of UK towns: 14% of households live in a terraced house
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
By its share of households in detached houses (27%), Cranborne is below 56% of UK towns. Households in terraced houses: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison. 11% of households live in a flat or apartment.
Cranborne sits below 98% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (2.3%)
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.6%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.5%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents whose main language is English: 100% here, more than in 99% of UK towns.
In Cranborne, 41% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 53% 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 Cranborne · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
At 50%, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian is higher than in 51% of UK towns. Residents with no religion make up 37% across England’s towns.
11% of residents give unpaid care, a share 92% of UK towns don’t reach
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
18 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 49%, more than in 55% of UK towns.
A degree-level qualification for 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Cranborne’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 17% have none (18%).
Older than Cranborne: 6 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranborne | 579 | — | 48.6 | 25% | 24% |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 3.6 mi | 49 | 28% | 26% |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 3.8 mi | 50.4 | 25% | 27% |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 4.8 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 26% |
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | 4.9 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 29% |
| Fordingbridge | 4,947 | 5.6 mi | 50.1 | 29% | 23% |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 6.9 mi | 60.6 | 42% | 16% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 7.2 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
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 Cranborne’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 Cranborne’s residents
What is the population of Cranborne?
The 2021 Census counted 579 people in Cranborne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cranborne?
The median age was 48.6 at the 2021 Census. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cranborne?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 2.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cranborne?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Cranborne good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Cranborne’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.