Photo: Oast House Archive · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Swanage is over 56.4, older than 98% of UK towns
In Swanage the average household is 2.1 people, beside 2.4 across England’s towns. At 14%, the share of households in terraced houses is lower than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. The town is home to 9,115 residents in 4,356 households, by the 2021 Census. Census figures put adults who have never married at 27% in the town.
What the Census says about Swanage’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Swanage’s residents are under 56.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 35% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
A town of flats
33% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 19% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Swanage at 9,600 in 2011 and 9,400 in 2024, down 2%, against 10% for England: slower growth than in 91% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Slower growth than 91% of UK towns: Swanage changed by −2% since 2011
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Swanage’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 9,600 people in 2011; 9,400 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+21%) and the 16 to 29 group least (−24%).
Swanage sits above 97% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (35%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 7.8%, against 12% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Swanage, 56.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
3.5% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 95% of UK towns
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 a third of Swanage’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 25%, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Here, one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier. Typically, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Households with dependent children: 18%, a lower share than 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.
Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Swanage, 35%. The wider picture: 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 3.1% locally.
33% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 96% 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
24% of households have no car or van across England’s towns, against 19% in Swanage. As a yardstick, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Households in detached houses are more common here than in just over three fifths of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 7.4%, a higher share than 60% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 14% of those born abroad (England’s towns: 21%). By way of comparison, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.8%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are scarce here: 98%, fewer than in just over half of UK towns.
54% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 75% 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: 93% of Swanage · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 93%, Swanage is ahead of 58% of UK towns on that count. Across the comparison, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. The census found that 37% of residents said they have no religion locally.
Swanage ranks above 66% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 50%
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
In Swanage, 10% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns.
32% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 32% of adults in Swanage, 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification, against 18%.
Ranked by age, 12th oldest of 482 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Swanage in age: Shanklin (55.8), Cromer (56.2), West Moors (56.5) and West Mersea (56.6).
The towns around Swanage are all younger
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swanage | 9,115 | — | 56.4 | 35% | 18% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 8.6 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Wareham | 5,876 | 8.7 mi | 52.6 | 32% | 21% |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 8.7 mi | 52 | 29% | 26% |
| Upton | 8,401 | 9.1 mi | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Bournemouth | 196,453 | 10.1 mi | 39.1 | 18% | 25% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 11 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 11.3 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
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 Swanage’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Swanage’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 9,432 people in 2021, against 9,115 in the built-up area.
- 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 Swanage’s residents
What is the population of Swanage?
The 2021 Census counted 9,115 people in Swanage’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 9,400 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Swanage?
The median age was 56.4 at the 2021 Census, older than 98% of UK towns. 7.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 35% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Swanage?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 7.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Swanage?
37% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 7.1% didn’t answer.
Is Swanage good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Swanage’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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.