Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Motcombe is older than 93% of UK towns: a median age of 52.7
Where 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, Motcombe has 22%. 53% of households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 92% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 1,366 people lived in the village, in 598 households. Census figures put households without a car or van at 6.6% in the village.
What the Census says about Motcombe’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Motcombe’s residents are under 52.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Only 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Motcombe
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
55–59 is the most common age band: one in ten residents, 1.5 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, 28% of residents are 65 or over. By way of comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
2.4% 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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Motcombe has 12%. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 72% of UK towns
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.
2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (England’s towns: 4.3%). One-person households: 29% of the total.
Households in terraced houses: 9%, a lower share than 91% 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
Compared with 23% across England’s towns, 5.9% of households live in a flat or apartment here. Elsewhere, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
Motcombe: 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (2%) and in EU countries (1.9%). Motcombe has more residents born outside the UK than 54% of UK towns, at 6.8%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 56% in Motcombe, more than in 82% 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: 94% of Motcombe · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion in Motcombe. Meanwhile, 94% of residents describe themselves as White British, a higher share than in 68% of UK towns. As a reference point, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and African (0.9%).
Motcombe ranks below 97% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 23%
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
For 12 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. 57% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a higher share than in 94% of UK towns. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Here 7.6% of residents give unpaid care, where the figure across England’s towns is 8.7%.
A degree-level qualification for 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 39% of its adults qualified to degree level, Motcombe compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 11% hold no qualification (18%).
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Motcombe
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motcombe | 1,366 | — | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 2.1 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 2.8 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 24% |
| Mere | 2,808 | 4.7 mi | 55.4 | 35% | 17% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 5.9 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
| Tisbury | 2,274 | 6.2 mi | 52.9 | 31% | 20% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 7.8 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 8.1 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
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 Motcombe’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 Motcombe’s residents
What is the population of Motcombe?
The 2021 Census counted 1,366 people in Motcombe’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Motcombe?
The median age was 52.7 at the 2021 Census. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Motcombe?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Motcombe?
35% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 9.1% didn’t answer.
Is Motcombe good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Motcombe’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.