Photo: Nigel Mykura · CC BY-SA 2.0Fontmell Magna is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 59.5
Set against 23% across England’s towns, 2.2% of households live in a flat or apartment in Fontmell Magna. For Fontmell Magna, the census puts households with dependent children at 16%. 60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 98% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 287 people lived in the village, in 140 households.
Residents aged 65 and over: 41%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 6.9%, against 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
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.
Only 3.8% of adults are full-time students in Fontmell Magna
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%.
Compared with 11% across England’s towns, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier here. Full-time students make up 7.9% across England’s towns.
Smaller households than 96% of UK towns: 2.1 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.
In Fontmell Magna, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 4.3% across England’s towns. 30% of households are one person living alone.
9.4% of households live in a terraced house, below 91% 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
Across England’s towns, 24% of households have no car or van; in Fontmell Magna, 8.6%. Census figures put households in detached houses at 49% here.
99% of residents have English as their main language, a share 95% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
7.3% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.1%).
Fontmell Magna: 55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 81% 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: 93% of Fontmell Magna · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion is 38%, against 37% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. In Fontmell Magna, 93% of residents describe themselves as White British.
More unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 14%
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
Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 13 people. At 18%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 99% of UK towns. For unpaid carers, the comparison across England’s towns is 8.7%.
30% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Fontmell Magna’s adults: 30% with a degree-level qualification and 18% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Median age: 1 of the 7 towns around Fontmell Magna are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fontmell Magna | 287 | — | 59.5 | 41% | 16% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 3.2 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 3.8 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 4.6 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 4.8 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 5.4 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 5.5 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 6.4 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
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 Fontmell Magna’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 Fontmell Magna’s residents
What is the population of Fontmell Magna?
The 2021 Census counted 287 people in Fontmell Magna’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Fontmell Magna?
The median age was 59.5 at the 2021 Census. 6.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 41% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Fontmell Magna?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Fontmell Magna?
38% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Fontmell Magna good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Fontmell Magna’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.