Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0Shillingstone is older than 94% of UK towns: a median age of 52.9
Across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 29%; Shillingstone has 22%. The share of adults who have never married stands at 23%. On households in detached houses, Shillingstone sits higher than 88% of UK towns: 49%. At the 2021 Census Shillingstone was home to 1,165 people in 501 households.
What the Census says about Shillingstone’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Shillingstone’s residents are under 52.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 29% 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).
Shillingstone sits above 90% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (29%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 9.5%, against 12% across England’s towns. As a reference point, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
4% of adults are full-time students, below 83% 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%.
By class, 36% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier, more than in 59% of UK towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
In Shillingstone, 23% of households are one person living alone, fewer than in 92% 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.
Set against 4.3% across England’s towns, 2.8% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Shillingstone. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. The average household has 2.3 people.
Households without a car or van make up 6.2% in Shillingstone, less than in 97% 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
The figure for households in terraced houses is 14% in Shillingstone and 24% across England’s towns. For Shillingstone, the census puts households in flats at 4%. Every 16th household or so has no car or van.
In Shillingstone, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 97% 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 EU countries (1.3%) and in Africa (1.2%). Across the comparison, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. On residents born outside the UK, Shillingstone sits lower than 82% of UK towns: 3.7%.
Shillingstone ranks above 92% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%
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: 96% of Shillingstone · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Next after White British come Other White (1.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.4%) and Indian (0.1%). Against that, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as Christian: 56% here, more than in 85% of UK towns. Set against 37% across England’s towns, 36% of residents said they have no religion in Shillingstone.
A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 95% of UK towns, at 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 44 residents. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 10% here, more than in just over two thirds of UK towns.
33% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
33% of Shillingstone’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Shillingstone
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | — | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 1.4 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 3.4 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 4.4 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 5.8 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 6 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 6.1 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 7.2 mi | 55.6 | 35% | 20% |
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 Shillingstone’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 Shillingstone’s residents
What is the population of Shillingstone?
The 2021 Census counted 1,165 people in Shillingstone’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shillingstone?
The median age was 52.9 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shillingstone?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shillingstone?
36% said they had no religion and 56% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Shillingstone good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shillingstone’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.