Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 94% of UK towns: half of Spetisbury is over 53.4
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 97%, above 95% of UK towns. Census figures put adults who have never married at 25% in Spetisbury. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are scarce here: 23%, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. Its 252 households held 587 residents at the 2021 Census.
A higher share of residents aged 65 and over than 91% of UK towns, at 30%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents, 1.4 times the share across England’s towns. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. Here, 8% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Below 98% of UK towns: 3.1% of adults are full-time students
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%.
Against a figure of 11% across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year in Spetisbury comes in at 8.3%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Fewer people live alone than in 96% of UK towns: 21% of households
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 Spetisbury, 2.3. By way of comparison, 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults are more common here than in 52% of UK towns.
Spetisbury sits below 99% of UK towns for households without a car or van (3.6%)
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
In Spetisbury, 2% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. Three in five households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 96% of UK towns. Households without a car or van: 24% across England’s towns, for comparison. The census found that 6% of households live in a terraced house here.
Spetisbury: 99% of residents have English as their main language, above 86% 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
With residents born outside the UK at 4.9%, Spetisbury is behind nearly two thirds of UK towns on that count. The benchmark for residents whose main language is English across England’s towns: 90%. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.9%) and in Africa (1.2%).
More residents who describe themselves as Christian than 59% of UK towns: 51%
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 Spetisbury · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
42% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
5.8% of residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 99% 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
Married adults and civil partners make up 58%, against 44% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. Some 2 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Qualified to degree level: 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
10% of Spetisbury’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 37% have one at degree level (34%).
Every neighbour of Spetisbury has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spetisbury | 587 | — | 53.4 | 30% | 23% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 1.1 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 2.9 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 2.9 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 3.5 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 5 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 5.9 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Bere Regis | 1,320 | 6.3 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
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 Spetisbury’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 Spetisbury’s residents
What is the population of Spetisbury?
The 2021 Census counted 587 people in Spetisbury’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Spetisbury?
The median age was 53.4 at the 2021 Census. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 30% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Spetisbury?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 4.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Spetisbury?
42% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Spetisbury good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Spetisbury’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.