Photo: Mike Searle · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 59: Stourpaine is older than 99% of UK towns
Against a figure of 21% across England’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Stourpaine comes in at 65%. In 2021, the Census found 314 residents locally, living in 146 households. Here, 6.9% of households have no car or van. Lower than in 95% of UK towns: 1.4% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
More residents aged 65 and over than 99% of UK towns: 41%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 4.4% in Stourpaine. The wider picture: 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Fewer full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 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%.
Managerial and professional jobs account for 48% of Stourpaine’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 12%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. 8% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Fewer families than 91% of UK towns: 21% of households have children
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.
Households average 2.1 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. Census figures put one-person households at 26% in Stourpaine. Elsewhere, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
8.3% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 93% 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
Against a figure of 23% across England’s towns, the share of households in flats in Stourpaine comes in at 6.9%. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
More residents born outside the UK than 62% of UK towns: 7.6%
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 EU countries (3.2%) or in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.2%). Stourpaine has fewer residents whose main language is English than just over three fifths of UK towns, at 97%. For residents born outside the UK, the comparison across England’s towns is 18%.
61% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 95% 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
White British, not charted: 95% of Stourpaine · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
35% of residents said they have no religion, against 37% across England’s towns. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 72% of UK towns: 95%. Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Only 19% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Stourpaine
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
The share of married adults and civil partners tops 99% of UK towns: 62%. Unpaid carers: nearly a tenth of the total. As a reference point, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 50% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In Stourpaine, 50% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns, while 9.7% have no qualification at all (18%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Stourpaine
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stourpaine | 314 | — | 59 | 41% | 21% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 2.1 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Blandford Forum | 11,805 | 2.4 mi | 45.8 | 25% | 24% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 2.7 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 3.7 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 4.2 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Sturminster Newton | 3,565 | 5.4 mi | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 7.8 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
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 Stourpaine’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 Stourpaine’s residents
What is the population of Stourpaine?
The 2021 Census counted 314 people in Stourpaine’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Stourpaine?
The median age was 59 at the 2021 Census. 4.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 41% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stourpaine?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stourpaine?
35% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 2.9% didn’t answer.
Is Stourpaine good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Stourpaine’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.