Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns: 8%
With households in terraced houses at 37%, Maiden Newton is ahead of 91% of UK towns on that count. The village’s 504 households held 1,128 residents at the 2021 Census. The share of households without a car or van stands at 7.9%. 11% of residents give unpaid care, a higher share than in 82% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Maiden Newton’s people
Many older residents
28% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 86% of UK towns; 18% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Maiden Newton is older than 83% of UK towns: a median age of 49.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 65–69, with 8.9% of residents, 1.9 times the share across England’s towns. In Ashley Heath, the oldest of Dorset’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 87 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.
Full-time students make up 3.4% in Maiden Newton, less than in 96% 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%.
The share of residents who moved in within the year is 9.1%, against 11% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
A smaller share of households with dependent children than 70% of UK towns: 25%
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.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across England’s towns, 2.4. Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%. The share of one-person households stands at 31%.
9.6% of households live in a flat or apartment, fewer than in 56% of UK towns
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
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 31% of households live in a detached house in Maiden Newton. Measured more widely, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Maiden Newton: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 90% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.2%) and in Africa (0.9%). Maiden Newton has fewer residents born outside the UK than 81% of UK towns, at 3.7%.
Above 80% of UK towns: 95% of residents describe themselves as White British
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: 95% of Maiden Newton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns, against 51% in Maiden Newton. The usual figure: 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (1.9%) and African (0.5%).
28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 82% 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
Against a figure of 44% across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners in Maiden Newton comes in at 52%. As a yardstick, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 41 people.
Qualified to degree level: 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
34% of Maiden Newton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 13% have none (18%).
Of the 7 towns nearest Maiden Newton, 3 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maiden Newton | 1,128 | — | 49.7 | 28% | 25% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 5.3 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 5.7 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 7.3 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Beaminster | 2,995 | 7.7 mi | 57.7 | 39% | 17% |
| Bradpole | 1,257 | 7.7 mi | 50.3 | 29% | 23% |
| Bridport | 12,294 | 8.8 mi | 56.2 | 35% | 17% |
| Barwick and Stoford | 1,095 | 9.9 mi | 47.9 | 28% | 24% |
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 Maiden Newton’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 Maiden Newton’s residents
What is the population of Maiden Newton?
The 2021 Census counted 1,128 people in Maiden Newton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Maiden Newton?
The median age was 49.7 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Maiden Newton?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Maiden Newton?
40% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 6.9% didn’t answer.
Is Maiden Newton good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Maiden Newton’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.