Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in detached houses than 99% of UK towns, at 75%
Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. At 6.8%, the share of households in terraced houses is lower than in 96% of UK towns. Merley is home to 5,489 residents in 2,120 households, by the 2021 Census. Census figures put adults who have never married at 25% locally.
What the Census says about Merley’s people
Many older residents
30% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 90% 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).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 90% of UK towns: 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 15–19, with 9.6% of residents, 1.7 times the share across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over. Half of Merley’s residents are over 48.7, older than in 78% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Merley, 48.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Above 95% of UK towns: 9.1% of adults are full-time students
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 account for 43% of Merley’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 17%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%. 9.9% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Merley ranks below 73% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 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.
3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, against 4.3% across England’s towns. Each household has 2.4 people on average. Households with dependent children make up 29% across England’s towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 94% of UK towns: 7.5%
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
Across England’s towns, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Merley, 5.8%. On top of that, every 13th household or so has no car or van.
Residents whose main language is English make up 98% in Merley, more than in 67% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 18% of that group, against 21% across England’s towns. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.5%). 6.9% of residents were born outside the UK, a higher share than in 55% of UK towns.
Merley ranks above 72% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53%
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: 94% of Merley · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents with no religion is 38% in Merley and 37% across England’s towns. Across Merley, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 96% of UK towns: 58%
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
116 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. As a reference point, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 9.5%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 53% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
36% of Merley’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 12% have none (18%). Many of the 16% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 155th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Merley in age: Carlton in Lindrick (48.7), Bishop's Waltham (48.7), Nailsworth (48.8) and East Boldon and West Boldon (48.9).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Merley
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Merley | 5,489 | — | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 1.5 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 1.9 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 2.5 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 3.4 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3.5 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 3.6 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 4.2 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
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 Merley’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 Merley’s residents
What is the population of Merley?
The 2021 Census counted 5,489 people in Merley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Merley?
The median age was 48.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 78% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Merley?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Merley?
38% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.8% didn’t answer.
Is Merley good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Merley’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.