Photo: Derek Harper · CC BY-SA 2.0

60Median age

Who lives here · ONS Census 2021

Ridge is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 60

17% of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). In 2021, the Census found 305 residents in Ridge, living in 134 households. Here, 82% of households live in a detached house. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 12%, more than in 98% of UK towns.

43%aged 65 or over 3.9%born abroad 134households

Ages

43% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.

RidgeEngland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

Where 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, Ridge has 8%. As a yardstick, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 156.6%

15 to 248%

25 to 4410%

45 to 6432%

65 and over43%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

50% women, 50% men

Ridge

England

WomenMen

About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.

Students & newcomers

5.3% of adults are full-time students, more than in 70% 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

Full-time students5.3%

Higher managerial and professional27%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed17%

Supervisory and technical3.2%

Semi-routine5%

Routine6.4%

Never worked or long-term unemployed3.2%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Address a year before the Census

Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.

Ridge

9.2%

England’s towns

11%

Moved within the UKTerm-time addressMoved from abroad

Moved in within a year

residents, 8.5%; England’s towns 11%

Of them from abroad

1× England’s share

Managerial and professional jobs account for 48% of Ridge’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 11%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. The census found that 8.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier locally.

The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.

Households

A smaller share of one-person households than 99% of UK towns: 16%

Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 11%Living alone, under 66 4.5%Families with dependent children 17%Couples and families, no young children 63%Shared houses and other 4.5%

Against Dorset’s towns and England’s towns

Ridge

Dorset’s towns

England’s towns

People per household

1 person16%

2 people59%

3 people11%

4 people12%

5 or more2.2%

England’s towns.

Shared households of unrelated adults are about as common here as across England’s towns: 4.5%. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people.

Homes & cars

Below 99% of UK towns: 0.8% of households live in a flat or apartment

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Ridge

Dorset’s towns

England’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van6%

One25%

Two46%

Three or more24%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

6% of households live in a terraced house, against 24% across England’s towns. What’s more, every 17th household or so has no car or van. The usual figure: nearly a quarter of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.

Where people were born

Residents whose main language is English make up 100% in Ridge, more than in 99% 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%

Ridge

3.9%

Dorset’s towns

11%

England’s towns

18%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language100%

Another main language, speaks English very well or well0.3%

Another main language, little or no English0%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). 3.9% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 78% of UK towns. On average, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.

Ethnicity & religion

96% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 85% of UK towns don’t reach

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

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Other White2.6%

Asian0%

Mixed1.6%

Black0%

Other0%

0%6%12%

White British, not charted: 96% of Ridge · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.

Religion · all residents

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

No religion43%

Christian48%

Muslim0%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0%

Other religion0%

Didn’t answer8.9%

0%30%60%

Residents with no religion: 43% here and 37% across England’s towns. Here, 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian. As a reference point, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.

Relationships & caring

A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns: 73%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership16%

Married or civil partnership73%

Separated0.4%

Divorced6.1%

Widowed4.3%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

38residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 12%, against 8.7% in England’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over

Up to 19 hours a week7.2%

20 to 49 hours2%

50 hours or more3.3%

The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 10. 16% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns. To put it in context, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.

Qualifications

A degree-level qualification for 48% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications8.8%

Apprenticeship6.3%

A levels or similar11%

Degree level48%

RidgeDorset’s townsEngland’s towns

Ridge’s adults: 48% with a degree-level qualification and 8.8% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.

Neighbours

Every nearby town is younger than Ridge

Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.

WarehamSandfordUptonLytchett MatraversWoolPooleSwanageRidge

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Ridge	305	—	60	43%	17%
Wareham	5,876	1.6 mi	52.6	32%	21%
Sandford	2,004	2 mi	52	29%	26%
Upton	8,401	4.9 mi	44.8	23%	28%
Lytchett Matravers	3,455	5.6 mi	48.8	28%	27%
Wool	5,044	6 mi	37.6	17%	33%
Poole	141,009	6.9 mi	44.6	23%	26%
Swanage	9,115	7.1 mi	56.4	35%	18%

More about Ridge’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

HealthLife expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of livingOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax SchoolsEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Ridge’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 Ridge’s residents

What is the population of Ridge?

The 2021 Census counted 305 people in Ridge’s built-up area.

What is the average age in Ridge?

The median age was 60 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 43% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Ridge?

96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Ridge?

43% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.9% didn’t answer.

Is Ridge good for families?

17% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Ridge’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.