Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 98% of UK towns: half of Shroton is over 57.1
By its share of married adults and civil partners (65%), Shroton is above 99% of UK towns. 97% of residents describe themselves as White British. More households in detached houses than in 92% of UK towns: 53%.
33% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
7.4% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across England’s towns the figure is 12%. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Shroton ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 2.3%
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%.
With full-time students at 5.2%, Shroton is ahead of 66% of UK towns on that count. Measured more widely, just over one in ten 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 lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 1%
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.
Across England’s towns, households average 2.4 people; in Shroton, 2.2. The census found that a quarter of households are one person living alone locally. 20% of households have dependent children, a lower share than in 94% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns.
Shroton ranks below 88% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 8.9%
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
Households in flats are rarer here than in 99% of UK towns. For households without a car or van, the comparison across England’s towns is 24%. Across Shroton, 29% of households live in a terraced house.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 90% of UK towns: 99%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (3.7%) or in EU countries (2.3%). Shroton has more residents born outside the UK than 71% of UK towns, at 9.3%.
32% of residents said they have no religion, below 90% 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: 97% of Shroton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59% here and 46% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 15% of residents
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
Compared with 39% across England’s towns, 16% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership here. Unpaid carers: 8.7% across England’s towns, for comparison. 6 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 49%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 49% of adults in Shroton, 34% across England’s towns; 5.8% have no qualification, against 18%.
Of the 7 towns nearest Shroton, 2 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shroton | 215 | — | 57.1 | 33% | 20% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 1.6 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 2.4 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 4.2 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 4.4 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 4.7 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 6.1 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 6.2 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
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 Shroton’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 Shroton’s residents
What is the population of Shroton?
The 2021 Census counted 215 people in Shroton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Shroton?
The median age was 57.1 at the 2021 Census. 7.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Shroton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 9.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Shroton?
32% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 8.8% didn’t answer.
Is Shroton good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Shroton’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.