Harman's Cross’s story
No listed buildings inside Harman's Cross’s built-up area
27% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Harman's CrossDorset
A village of 404 in Dorset, South West.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Huligan0 · CC BY-SA 3.0
Population
404
Census 2021 · Dorset council
Median age
59.8
41% are 65+ · Dorset 25%
Degree level
40%
of residents 16+ · England 34%
Walk, cycle, bus
6%
of commuters · England 27%
Is Harman's Cross a good place to live?
Harman's Cross has fewer than 1,000 residents, too few for fair grades; the figures on this page are still real.
What makes Harman's Cross stand out
The 3 things Harman's Cross does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
6% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (England’s towns 27%)
42% of commuters travel under 5 km.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
41% are 65 or over
Against 18% across England’s towns
Own outright
Housing
61% own outright
of households own their home with no mortgage (England’s towns 32%)
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Corfe Castle and 22 more in and around Harman's Cross
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Harman's Cross. Best known first.
Castle · National TrustCorfe Castle2.5 km outside town, to the northwest · 190K visitors a year (2010)
Heritage railwaySwanage Railway2.3 km outside town, to the east
MuseumPurbeck Mining Museum3.1 km outside town, to the northwest
MuseumSwanage Museum & Heritage Centre4.2 km outside town, to the east
PierSwanage Pier4.6 km outside town, to the eastHistoric siteHistoric site · National TrustSpyway Dinosaur Footprints1.9 km outside town, to the southPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (5)
- Corfe Castle: Albany E. Howarth, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Swanage Railway: LordHarris at English Wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Purbeck Mining Museum: John Rowley, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre: Nicholas Mutton, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Swanage Pier: Daniel Schmidt, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Harman's Cross.
Who lives here
Older residents shape Harman's Cross: 41% are 65 or over, above Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
Harman's Cross sits above both Dorset’s towns (25%) and England’s towns (18%) on this measure. Under-15s account for 9.5% of the population. Harman's Cross has a median age of 59.8.
59.8median age
Harman's CrossDorsetEngland
Ages · share of residents
41%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications14%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar14%
Degree level40%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
| Harman's Cross | Dorset | England | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 9.5% | 15% | 18% |
| 15–24 | 6.7% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 14% | 23% | 27% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 25% |
| 65+ | 41% | 25% | 18% |
| No qualifications | 14% | 16% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship | 6.9% | 6.4% | 5.3% |
| A levels or similar | 14% | 18% | 17% |
| Degree level | 40% | 31% | 34% |
ONS Census 2021 · Dorset and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Work & commute
Only 6% of commuters in Harman's Cross go to work without a car, fewer than in Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 39% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
That puts Harman's Cross below both Dorset’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (27%). The car carried 88% of commuters at the census.
6%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving88%
On foot3%
Bicycle2%
Train1%
42%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
39%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£51K
mean household income, before tax
2.4%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Harman's Cross is a town of owners: 85% of households own their home, above Dorset’s towns and England’s towns
On this, Harman's Cross is above both Dorset’s towns (66%) and England’s towns (61%). Social housing holds 0% of households.
£0Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Harman's Cross£0K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £575,000 | 7 |
85%
of households own their home · England 61%
13%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,056
average private rent a month, Dorset council area
£2,625
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Homes in Harman's Cross see less burglary and damage than in Dorset’s towns or England’s towns: 3.3 per 1,000 a year
In the comparison, Harman's Cross comes below both Dorset’s towns (7.9) and England’s towns (9.4). Violent crime runs at 8.3 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 8 crimes inside Harman's Cross’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 0 reports of anti-social behaviour.
8.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Other theft4
Violence & sexual1
Shoplifting1
Public order1
Burglary1
Damage & arson0
Drugs0
Vehicle crime0
Anti-social0
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.
8.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
3.3
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
0.8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
8
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
Bad health is less common in Harman's Cross than in Dorset’s towns or across England’s towns: 3.7% of residents
For Harman's Cross, that is below both Dorset’s towns (5.3%) and England’s towns (5.2%). Harman's Cross has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 1.9 miles away. These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy and early deaths.
82%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 82%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 4%
| Census 2021 | Harman's Cross | Dorset | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 82% | 81% | 82% |
| Bad or very bad health | 3.7% | 5.3% | 5.2% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 17% | 19% | 17% |
81.1
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
85.2
life expectancy at birth, women
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
History
Harman's Cross keeps more of its old housing than Dorset or England’s towns: 27% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Harman's Cross’ land, 0% lies in conservation areas, below Dorset’s towns (15%) and close to England’s towns (7%).
0listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic England
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
27%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Harman's Cross
12pages on Harman's Cross
The big questions
Harman's Cross’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
SwanageWarehamSandfordUptonPooleLytchett MatraversCorfe MullenHarman's Cross
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harman's Cross | 404 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Swanage | 9,115 | 2.5 | C− | D− | B | B− |
| Wareham | 5,876 | 6.5 | C | D− | B− | B |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 6.7 | — | D | A | B+ |
| Upton | 8,401 | 7.9 | B− | D | B | C+ |
| Poole | 141,009 | 8.2 | C+ | D | C | C+ |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 9.7 | A− | D− | A | A− |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 10 | 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.
Questions about Harman's Cross
How much is council tax in Harman's Cross?
Band D council tax in Harman's Cross is £2,625 for 2026–27, more than in 90% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Is Harman's Cross safe?
Police recorded 8 crimes inside Harman's Cross’ built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 13% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
About Harman's Cross
Village in Dorset, England
Harman's Cross is a built-up area of 404 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
- Population
- 404 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Dorset
- County
- Dorset
- Region
- South West
- Area
- 0.2 sq mi (0.4 km²)
- ONS code
- E63006814
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.