Photo: Trish Steel · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 53.8: Holt is older than 95% of UK towns
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 65% in Holt. The village counted 323 residents and 131 households at the 2021 Census. Here, three quarters of households live in a detached house. One-person households are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 29% in Holt, more than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 55–59: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. Holt has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than two thirds of UK towns, at 9.2%. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
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.
Fewer residents who moved in within the year than 95% of UK towns: 6.2%
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%.
47% of Holt’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 11% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. In Holt, 5.5% of adults are full-time students.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Only 23% of households in Holt have dependent children
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.
At 2.4 people, the average household compares with 2.4 across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 78% of UK towns. Measured more widely, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
A lower share of households in flats than 99% of UK towns, at 0.8%
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
The share of households in terraced houses is 2.3%, against 24% across England’s towns. As a reference point, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Households without a car or van: 4.6% of the total.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 67% of UK towns: 98%
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
With residents born outside the UK at 5.9%, Holt is behind 55% of UK towns on that count. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Against that, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 97% of UK towns, at 63%
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: 96% of Holt · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 96%, against 73% across England’s towns. Still, at 32%, the share of residents with no religion is lower than in 90% of UK towns. On average, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.8%), Chinese (0.6%) and Mixed or multiple (0.6%).
A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 19%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 9 residents. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, more than in 53% of UK towns. Typically, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Holt, 39% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 8.4% have no qualification at all (18%).
Older than Holt: 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holt | 323 | — | 53.8 | 29% | 23% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 2.2 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | 3.4 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 29% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 3.6 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3.6 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 3.6 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 4.6 mi | 49 | 28% | 26% |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 4.6 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “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 Holt’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 Holt’s residents
What is the population of Holt?
The 2021 Census counted 323 people in Holt’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Holt?
The median age was 53.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Holt?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Holt?
32% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 4% didn’t answer.
Is Holt good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Holt’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.