Fortuneswell, Isle of Portland, Dorset-9454

Fortuneswell, #1 on this list · Photo: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0

Dorset rankings · Cost of living

Most affordable towns in Dorset

Fortuneswell ranks first on cost of living among Dorset’s 30 towns of 2,500+; none grades A− or better against UK towns; the best here is a C+.

The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. The rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland sits beside each letter. How grades work

Fortuneswell

4,554 people

C⁺

Homes cost 3.9 years of area income·#1,605 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Weston

5,208 people

Homes cost 4.5 years of area income·#1,772 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Gillingham

11,009 people

C⁻

Homes cost 5.0 years of area income·#2,057 of 2,515 in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

All 30 towns, ranked

Cost of living grade, best first; ranks are the county ranks on each town’s page (T = tied). Military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked. Each rank across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland links to the national list.

Every town in Dorset →

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30 towns.

#TownGrade · UK rankCompared with UK towns

1Fortuneswell4,554 peopleC⁺#1,605 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 3.9 years of area income

2Weston5,208 peopleC#1,772 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 4.5 years of area income

3Gillingham11,009 peopleC⁻#2,057 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.0 years of area income

4Weymouth55,540 peopleC⁻#2,133 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.3 years of area income

5Blandford Forum11,805 peopleC⁻#2,139 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.3 years of area income

6Shaftesbury9,163 peopleC⁻#2,186 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.4 years of area income

7Sturminster Newton3,565 peopleC⁻#2,202 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.3 years of area income

8Bournemouth196,453 peopleD#2,290 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.9 years of area income

9Chickerell3,973 peopleD#2,308 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.2 years of area income

10Upton8,401 peopleD#2,325 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.1 years of area income

11Sherborne10,359 peopleD#2,337 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 5.9 years of area income

12Dorchester21,358 peopleD#2,356 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.1 years of area income

13Beaminster2,995 peopleD#2,369 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.2 years of area income

14Bearwood4,134 peopleD#2,378 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.5 years of area income

15Poole141,009 peopleD#2,390 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.6 years of area income

16Bridport12,294 peopleD#2,393 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.5 years of area income

17West Moors10,432 peopleD#2,398 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.2 years of area income

18Alderholt2,868 peopleD#2,412 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.4 years of area income

19Verwood13,706 peopleD#2,413 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.6 years of area income

20Wimborne Minster16,629 peopleD⁻#2,424 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.4 years of area income

21Swanage9,115 peopleD⁻#2,428 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.0 years of area income

22Lytchett Matravers3,455 peopleD⁻#2,434 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.9 years of area income

23Ferndown13,267 peopleD⁻#2,439 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.6 years of area income

24Wareham5,876 peopleD⁻#2,442 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 6.7 years of area income

T25Corfe Mullen10,036 peopleD⁻#2,445 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.4 years of area income

T25Lyme Regis3,741 peopleD⁻#2,445 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 8.6 years of area income

T25West Parley3,665 peopleD⁻#2,445 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 8.8 years of area income

28Ashley Heath7,151 peopleD⁻#2,450 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 12.7 years of area income

T29Christchurch48,973 peopleD⁻#2,468 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 7.9 years of area income

T29Merley5,489 peopleD⁻#2,468 of 2,515 nationallyhomes cost 8.4 years of area income

Not ranked

Not on this list

2 military garrison towns and university campuses keep their grades but aren’t ranked: most residents serve in the forces or are students.

Pimperne 2,770 people. Garrison town.
Wool 5,044 people. Garrison town.

Quick answers

Questions people ask

What is the most affordable town in Dorset?

Fortuneswell ranks first on cost of living among 30 towns, with a C+: homes cost 3.9 years of area income. Weston and Gillingham follow.

How are these towns ranked?

The Cost of living Grade: the median sale price (Land Registry), a year’s private rent (ONS) and Band D council tax with the parish precept, each against the mean household income of the town’s council area. The letter and rank are the same as on each town’s page. How grades work.

Why isn’t my town on this list?

Garrison towns and university campuses aren’t ranked, and towns without the figures this grade needs are counted above. The list covers Dorset’s towns of 2,500+ with the figure. Smaller places show it on their own pages; every town in Dorset is on the county page.

Go deeper

More Dorset lists

Every list ranks the same 2,500+ towns, so a town’s rank means the same thing on each.

All Dorset rankings →

Best places to live30 towns · #1 West Parley Best small towns16 towns · #1 West Parley Safest towns30 towns · #1 Merley Towns with the best schools30 towns · #1 Bournemouth Healthiest towns30 towns · #1 Ashley Heath Best towns for jobs & income30 towns · #1 Merley Most walkable towns30 towns · #1 Dorchester Towns with the lowest flood risk30 towns · #1 Alderholt and 8 more Best towns for the outdoors30 towns · #1 Swanage Most historic towns30 towns · #1 Bridport Towns with the most civic life30 towns · #1 Lytchett Matravers Towns with the highest household incomes32 towns · #1 PimperneDescribed, no letters Towns with the lowest council tax32 towns · #1 Bearwood and 2 moreDescribed, no letters Towns with the mildest winters32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no letters Towns with the warmest summers32 towns · #1 BearwoodDescribed, no letters Towns with the coolest summers32 towns · #1 SwanageDescribed, no letters Towns with the fewest frosts32 towns · #1 Fortuneswell and WestonDescribed, no letters Driest towns32 towns · #1 FortuneswellDescribed, no letters Wettest towns32 towns · #1 BeaminsterDescribed, no letters

Sources: HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. 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.