Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Leigh is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 63.6
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Leigh comes in at 0.9%. Its 215 households held 482 residents at the 2021 Census. In Leigh, 98% of residents describe themselves as White British. Lower than in 87% of UK towns: 25% of households are one person living alone.
Above 99% of UK towns: 48% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
2.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (England’s towns: 12%). Typically, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
1.8% of adults are full-time students, below 99% 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 40% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 14% (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Here, 10% of residents lived at another address a year earlier. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Fewer households with dependent children than 99% of UK towns: 15%
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.
1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. There are 2.1 people in the average household.
A higher share of households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns, at 70%
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
5.5% of households have no car or van, against 24% across England’s towns. For households in detached houses, the comparison across England’s towns is 21%. Across Leigh, 5.1% of households live in a terraced house.
Leigh ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 100%
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
In Leigh, 4.8% of residents were born outside the UK, beside 18% across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. The largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.5%).
Only 25% of residents said they have no religion in Leigh
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: 98% of Leigh · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Where 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, Leigh has 63%. Across the comparison, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
Leigh: 65% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, above 99% 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
39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns, against 18% in Leigh. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 61% of UK towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across England’s towns: 44%.
Degree-level qualifications: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Leigh, 17%, while 37% hold one at degree level (34%).
No nearby town is as old as Leigh
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh | 482 | — | 63.6 | 48% | 15% |
| Barwick and Stoford | 1,095 | 4.5 mi | 47.9 | 28% | 24% |
| Sherborne | 10,359 | 5.1 mi | 50.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Yeovil | 50,170 | 6.5 mi | 40 | 19% | 28% |
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | 6.9 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
| Milborne Port | 3,207 | 7.2 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 9.2 mi | 55.6 | 35% | 20% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 9.3 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
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 Leigh’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 Leigh’s residents
What is the population of Leigh?
The 2021 Census counted 482 people in Leigh’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Leigh?
The median age was 63.6 at the 2021 Census. 2.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 48% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Leigh?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 4.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Leigh?
25% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 9.1% didn’t answer.
Is Leigh good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Leigh’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.