Photo: Ian Greig · CC BY-SA 2.0Dorchester: 31% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 96% of UK towns
With a median age of 48.7, Dorchester is older than 78% of UK towns. 21,358 residents in 10,019 households: that is Dorchester at the 2021 Census. The census found that 36% of households are one person living alone in the town. Detached houses are home to 17% of households, against 21% across England’s towns.
What the Census says about Dorchester’s people
A town of flats
31% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 22% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Dorchester at 19,000 in 2011 and 22,600 in 2024, up 19%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 83% 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.
Dorchester grew +19% from 2011 to 2024, ahead of 83% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Dorchester’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,000 people in 2011; 22,600 in 2024.
The 65 and over age group changed most (+50%) and the 16 to 29 least (+7%). The steepest year was mid-2015 to mid-2016, up 520 people.
28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 84% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.6%, against 12% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dorchester, 48.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
5% of adults are full-time students, a share 57% of UK towns don’t reach
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%.
10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). The wider picture: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Dorchester households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 92% 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.
Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children, against 29% across England’s towns. On the census count, 2.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Dorchester: 30% of households live in a terraced house, above 83% 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
Compared with 24% across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households have no car or van here.
9.3% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 71% of UK towns don’t reach
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
97% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns. For comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (3.2%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 90% in Dorchester, less than in 62% 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: 90% of Dorchester · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The Muslim share of residents is 1.2%. Set beside that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 49% here and 46% across England’s towns.
Below 65% of UK towns: 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
565 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. The share of adults who have never married across England’s towns is 39%. Set against 44% across England’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Dorchester.
37% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Dorchester counts 37% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 14% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 46 in Poundbury & Dorchester West to 52 in Dorchester North
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Dorchester North is the oldest area, with 33% aged 65 or over; Poundbury & Dorchester West the youngest (median age 46). Families with children are most common in Poundbury & Dorchester West (27% of households).
26th oldest of 289 UK towns of 15,000 to 29,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 26.4 in Bangor to 57.2 in South Hayling. Nearest to Dorchester in age: Knaresborough (48.6), Wimborne Minster (48.6), Conwy (48.7) and Thornton (48.8).
Around Dorchester, 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorchester | 21,358 | — | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 1.8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 3 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 5.1 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 5.1 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
| Weymouth | 55,540 | 6.4 mi | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Chickerell | 3,973 | 6.6 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | 7.3 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
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 Dorchester’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. Dorchester’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 21,358 people in 2021, against 21,358 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 Dorchester’s residents
What is the population of Dorchester?
The 2021 Census counted 21,358 people in Dorchester’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 22,600 people in mid-2024, 19% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Dorchester?
The median age was 48.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 78% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dorchester?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 9.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dorchester?
42% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.2% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Dorchester good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Poundbury & Dorchester West (27% of households). Schools are on Dorchester’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.