Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Holton Heath is over 54.6, older than 96% of UK towns
Against a figure of 24% across England’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Holton Heath comes in at 5.7%. Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 27% of households live in a flat or apartment. The village had 270 residents in 122 households at the 2021 Census. The share of married adults and civil partners stands at 58%.
In Holton Heath, 8.2% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 90% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
26% of residents are 65 or over; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 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.
5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 58% 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%.
38% of Holton Heath’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.7%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Holton Heath sits below 93% of UK towns for households with dependent children (20%)
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.
One-person households: 29%, below just over three fifths of UK towns. The average household has 2.2 people. More shared households of unrelated adults than in 83% of UK towns: 3.3%.
Holton Heath sits below 85% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (11%)
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
Households in detached houses: 41% here and 21% across England’s towns. The wider picture: 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 4.5% in Holton Heath, less than in 71% of UK towns
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
Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 99% of residents have English as their main language here. The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%).
Holton Heath: 61% of residents describe themselves as Christian, above 96% 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: 96% of Holton Heath · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Holton Heath, 96%. For residents who describe themselves as Christian, the comparison across England’s towns is 46%. Census figures put residents with no religion at 31% locally.
Adults who have never married make up 23% in Holton Heath, less than in 97% of UK towns
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 1 people. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns. Fewer unpaid carers than in 91% of UK towns: 7.6%.
32% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 34% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Holton Heath, 32%, and 19% have none, against 18%.
Every neighbour of Holton Heath has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holton Heath | 270 | — | 54.6 | 26% | 20% |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 1.2 mi | 52 | 29% | 26% |
| Wareham | 5,876 | 2.3 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 21% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 2.6 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 2.7 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 4.5 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 5.3 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 5.5 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
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 Holton Heath’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 Holton Heath’s residents
What is the population of Holton Heath?
The 2021 Census counted 270 people in Holton Heath’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Holton Heath?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census. 8.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Holton Heath?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 4.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Holton Heath?
31% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Holton Heath good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Holton Heath’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.