Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 98% of UK towns: half of Pimperne is under 32.9
The share of households in detached houses is 43%, against 21% across England’s towns. In 2021, the Census found 2,770 residents in Pimperne, living in 841 households. Census figures put households without a car or van at 6.3% here. Fewer unpaid carers than in 99% of UK towns: 6.2%.
What the Census says about Pimperne’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Pimperne’s residents are under 32.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 20% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town of families
36% of Pimperne’s 841 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 95% of UK towns and the highest share in Dorset. 17% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
A town people move to
30% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 2.9 times the share across England’s towns. Students & newcomers ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A higher share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 99% of UK towns, at 20%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 65 and over is 16% in Pimperne and 18% across England’s towns. On average, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pimperne, 32.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
42% women, 58% men
About 72 women for every 100 men. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Pimperne is a garrison town: service personnel living in barracks count as residents.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 30% in Pimperne, more than in 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 account for 37% of Pimperne’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 15%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 7.4% of adults are full-time students. Against that, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of households with dependent children than 95% of UK towns, at 36%
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.
Against a figure of 30% across England’s towns, the share of one-person households in Pimperne comes in at 20%. Locally, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%.
Pimperne ranks below 88% of UK towns on households in flats: 4%
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
On households in terraced houses, Pimperne sits lower than half of UK towns: 20%. Across the comparison, nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 18%, a higher share than 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Pimperne has fewer residents whose main language is English than 93% of UK towns, at 90%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in the Middle East and Asia (11%) and in EU countries (3.5%). Across England’s towns, 21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later; here, 28%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 40%, a lower share than 92% 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: 80% of Pimperne · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and African (0.7%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are scarce here: 80%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. The share of residents with no religion trails just over half of UK towns: 41%.
Married adults and civil partners: 52%, a higher share than 76% 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
In Pimperne, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 54 people. Against that, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
32% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 32% of adults in Pimperne, 34% across England’s towns; 9.1% have no qualification, against 18%. For 22%, A levels are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Ranked by age, 13th youngest of 514 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest West Chiltington (63.1). Nearest to Pimperne in age: Wittering (32.5), Witham St Hughs (32.6), Hellingly (33) and Ambrosden (33.6).
Pimperne is younger than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pimperne | 2,770 | — | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 2.1 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 2.9 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 5.6 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 5.8 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 6 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 8 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 8.2 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
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 Pimperne’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 Pimperne’s residents
What is the population of Pimperne?
The 2021 Census counted 2,770 people in Pimperne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Pimperne?
The median age was 32.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 20% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pimperne?
80% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 18% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pimperne?
41% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Pimperne good for families?
36% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Pimperne’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.