Photo: Bellminsterboy · CC BY-SA 3.0Only 17% of households are one person living alone in Sturminster Marshall
Set against 21% across England’s towns, 55% of households live in a detached house in Sturminster Marshall. 1,504 residents in 579 households: that is Sturminster Marshall at the 2021 Census. Locally, 2.9% of households live in a flat or apartment. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Sturminster Marshall sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 98%.
Older than 76% of UK towns: half of Sturminster Marshall is over 48.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over is 18%; Sturminster Marshall has 24%. On residents aged 15 to 24, 12% here is much the same as across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Sturminster Marshall sits below 86% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (6.9%)
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%.
In Sturminster Marshall, 5.1% of adults are full-time students, beside 7.9% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 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.
Sturminster Marshall households average 2.6 people, larger than in 97% 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.
Against a figure of 29% across England’s towns, the share of households with dependent children in Sturminster Marshall comes in at 30%. In Sturminster Marshall, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Fewer households without a car or van than 97% of UK towns: 5.9%
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
With households in terraced houses at 13%, Sturminster Marshall is behind nearly four fifths of UK towns on that count. The benchmark for households without a car or van across England’s towns: 24%.
In Sturminster Marshall, 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
Against a figure of 18% across England’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK in Sturminster Marshall comes in at 3.3%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Measured more widely, nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53%, a higher share than 69% 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: 98% of Sturminster Marshall · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Census figures put residents with no religion at 41% in Sturminster Marshall. As a yardstick, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
60% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
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
11% of residents give unpaid care (England’s towns: 8.7%). The census found that 26% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Sturminster Marshall. Typically, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
Among adults, 35% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Sturminster Marshall’s adults: 35% with a degree-level qualification and 12% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
A younger town than 4 of the 7 around it: Sturminster Marshall
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | — | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 2.7 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 3.1 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Charlton Marshall | 1,084 | 4 mi | 51.9 | 30% | 25% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 4.7 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 4.7 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 4.9 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Pimperne | 2,770 | 5.6 mi | 32.9 | 16% | 36% |
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 Sturminster Marshall’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 Sturminster Marshall’s residents
What is the population of Sturminster Marshall?
The 2021 Census counted 1,504 people in Sturminster Marshall’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sturminster Marshall?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2021 Census. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sturminster Marshall?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sturminster Marshall?
41% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Sturminster Marshall good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sturminster Marshall’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.