Photo: William · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Thornford is over 56.9, older than 98% of UK towns
62% of adults are married or in a civil partnership (England’s towns: 44%). Thornford’s 404 households held 899 residents at the 2021 Census. The share of households in flats stands at 0.7%. Higher than in 95% of UK towns: 57% of households live in a detached house.
In Thornford, 33% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 95% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 86% of UK towns: 8.5%. Against that, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
About 82 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 89% of UK towns: 3.8% 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, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine or semi-routine work; Thornford has 40% and 17%. Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 98% 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 Thornford comes in at 23%. By way of comparison, 4.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across England’s towns. Locally, just over a quarter of households are one person living alone.
Only 6.4% of households in Thornford have no car or van
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Thornford, 10%. One household in every 16 has no car or van.
More residents whose main language is English than 90% of UK towns: 99%
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.8%) and in Africa (1.6%). 6.6% of residents were born outside the UK, against 18% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 59% in Thornford, more than in 92% 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: 95% of Thornford · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (2.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Pakistani (0.7%). Compared with other places, residents with no religion are scarce here: 32%, fewer than in 89% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 46%. 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 87% across Dorset’s towns and 73% across England’s towns.
A lower share of adults who have never married than 99% of UK towns, at 18%
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 26. The wider picture: 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Nearly one in ten residents give unpaid care, fewer than in 74% of UK towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across England’s towns, 18% of adults have no qualification; in Thornford, 13%, while 40% hold one at degree level (34%).
Every nearby town is younger than Thornford
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thornford | 899 | — | 56.9 | 33% | 23% |
| Barwick and Stoford | 1,095 | 2.4 mi | 47.9 | 28% | 24% |
| Sherborne | 10,359 | 2.8 mi | 50.2 | 32% | 20% |
| Yeovil | 50,170 | 3.7 mi | 40 | 19% | 28% |
| Milborne Port | 3,207 | 5.5 mi | 47.8 | 26% | 24% |
| Ilchester | 2,062 | 8 mi | 35.3 | 14% | 37% |
| Henstridge | 1,579 | 8.3 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 24% |
| Templecombe | 1,657 | 8.5 mi | 46.9 | 25% | 24% |
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 Thornford’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 Thornford’s residents
What is the population of Thornford?
The 2021 Census counted 899 people in Thornford’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Thornford?
The median age was 56.9 at the 2021 Census. 8.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 33% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thornford?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thornford?
32% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Thornford good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Thornford’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.