Photo: Des Blenkinsopp · CC BY-SA 2.035% of households are one person living alone, more than in 88% of UK towns
24% of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). Here, 87% of residents describe themselves as White British. With a median age of 48.2, Sturminster Newton is older than three quarters of UK towns. There were 1,621 households here at the 2021 Census, home to 3,565 residents.
Sturminster Newton ranks above 85% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 28%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The figure for residents aged 15 to 24 is 8.7% in Sturminster Newton and 12% across England’s towns. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 7.2% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Sturminster Newton, 48.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Below 81% of UK towns: 4.1% 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%.
Across England’s towns, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; Sturminster Newton has 9.1%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 84% 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.
3.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across England’s towns the figure is 4.3%.
21% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 84% 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
25% of households live in a detached house (England’s towns: 21%). Across the comparison, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Households in terraced houses account for 22%.
Sturminster Newton ranks above 83% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 13%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (10%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1%). The wider picture: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Lower than in 91% of UK towns: 91% of residents have English as their main language. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are nearly a quarter of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53%, a higher share than 72% 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: 87% of Sturminster Newton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 37% across England’s towns, 36% of residents said they have no religion in Sturminster Newton. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (10%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.5%). Across England’s towns, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
In Sturminster Newton, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 67% 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
Set against 44% across England’s towns, 45% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Sturminster Newton. Elsewhere, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 50 hours or more a week, 93 people give unpaid care.
26% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Sturminster Newton compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 20% hold no qualification (18%).
Ranked by age, 282nd oldest of 749 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Sturminster Newton in age: Framlingham (48.2), Cuxton (48.2), Chipping Ongar (48.3) and Porthmadog (48.3).
Nearby, 5 of 7 towns have older populations than Sturminster Newton
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 Newton | 3,565 | — | 48.2 | 28% | 24% |
| Marnhull | 1,466 | 2.9 mi | 59.5 | 40% | 16% |
| Child Okeford | 1,159 | 2.9 mi | 60.3 | 42% | 17% |
| Shillingstone | 1,165 | 3.4 mi | 52.9 | 29% | 22% |
| Stalbridge | 2,367 | 3.8 mi | 55.6 | 35% | 20% |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 5.1 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 6.9 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 7.2 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 26% |
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 Sturminster Newton’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 Newton’s residents
What is the population of Sturminster Newton?
The 2021 Census counted 3,565 people in Sturminster Newton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Sturminster Newton?
The median age was 48.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 75% of UK towns. 8.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Sturminster Newton?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Sturminster Newton?
36% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 7.9% didn’t answer.
Is Sturminster Newton good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Sturminster Newton’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.