![Iwerne Minster houses [7]](https://images.townratings.com/uk/town_images/10005784/f6d7179748918a158281.jpg)
Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0Below 96% of UK towns: 19% of households have dependent children
Households without a car or van make up 4.7%, against 24% across England’s towns. Iwerne Minster has fewer one-person households than 97% of UK towns, at 21%. At the 2021 Census, 934 people lived here, in 304 households. For Iwerne Minster, the census puts married adults and civil partners at 56%.
In Iwerne Minster, 20% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 98% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 30%, against 18% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns. Half of Iwerne Minster’s residents are over 49.5, older than in 83% of UK towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
More students than 99% of UK towns: 16% of adults in Iwerne Minster
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%.
Where 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns, Iwerne Minster has 15%. 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.
Smaller households than 72% of UK towns: 2.2 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.
4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns, against 3.3% in Iwerne Minster.
Iwerne Minster sits above 90% of UK towns for households in detached houses (51%)
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
4.9% of households live in a flat or apartment; across England’s towns the figure is 23%. Households in terraced houses: 19% of the total. On average, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns.
More residents born outside the UK than 80% of UK towns: 12%
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
Compared with 90% across England’s towns, 98% of residents have English as their main language here. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 18% across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (4.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (2.7%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 54%, a higher share than 75% 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 Iwerne Minster · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (4.7%), Mixed or multiple (2%) and African (0.9%). Nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British, fewer than in 62% of UK towns. The wider picture: 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. There is little gap on residents with no religion: 37%, about the same as across England’s towns.
Below 80% of UK towns: 28% 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
30 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. For comparison, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Iwerne Minster has fewer unpaid carers than 97% of UK towns, at 6.9%.
Degree-level qualifications reach 41% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Iwerne Minster’s adults: 41% with a degree-level qualification and 10% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns. Many still at university: 12% list A levels as their highest qualification.
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Iwerne Minster
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iwerne Minster | 934 | — | 49.5 | 30% | 19% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 2.2 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 3.2 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 4.7 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 4.9 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 5 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 5.5 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 6.1 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
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 Iwerne Minster’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 Iwerne Minster’s residents
What is the population of Iwerne Minster?
The 2021 Census counted 934 people in Iwerne Minster’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Iwerne Minster?
The median age was 49.5 at the 2021 Census. 20% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
Is Iwerne Minster a student village?
Yes: 16% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (116 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns.
How diverse is Iwerne Minster?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 12% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Iwerne Minster?
37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.3% didn’t answer.
Is Iwerne Minster good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Iwerne Minster’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.