Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0A lower share of one-person households than 97% of UK towns, at 21%
Half of Three Legged Cross’s residents are over 48.3, older than in just over three quarters of UK towns. Census day 2021: 1,129 residents and 438 households locally. Locally, 54% of households live in a detached house. Set against 39% across England’s towns, 27% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in the village.
What the Census says about Three Legged Cross’s people
Many older residents
29% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 87% of UK towns; 12% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Many carers
121 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 11% of those 5 and over: more than in 92% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Residents aged 65 and over: 29%, a higher share than 87% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 7.8% of residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. Residents aged 15 to 24 account for 9.5%. For comparison, 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 91 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.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Three Legged Cross
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%.
30% of Three Legged Cross’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who moved in within the year at 11% locally.
Larger households than 82% of UK towns: 2.4 people on average
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.
At 29%, the share of households with dependent children is in line with the figure across England’s towns. The census found that 2.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Three Legged Cross.
In Three Legged Cross, 8.8% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 88% 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
Where nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns, Three Legged Cross has 14%. In one household in 11 there is no car or van. Households in flats are more common here than in 64% of UK towns.
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Lower than in 52% of UK towns: 6.1% of residents were born outside the UK.
Three Legged Cross ranks above 71% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 44%
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: 94% of Three Legged Cross · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (3.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and African (0.4%). Few places have as many residents who describe themselves as White British: 94% here, more than in 63% of UK towns. Residents with no religion: 37% across England’s towns, for comparison. 48% of residents describe themselves as Christian, against 46% across England’s towns.
In Three Legged Cross, 11% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 92% 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
For 45 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. To put it in context, 8.7% of residents give unpaid care across England’s towns. The share of married adults and civil partners is 48%, against 44% across England’s towns.
24% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Three Legged Cross counts 24% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 20% have no qualification (18%).
6 of the 7 nearest towns are older than Three Legged Cross
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | — | 48.3 | 29% | 29% |
| Verwood | 13,706 | 1.6 mi | 49 | 28% | 26% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 2.4 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 2.5 mi | 60.6 | 42% | 16% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3.5 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 4.5 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
| Ringwood | 12,789 | 4.7 mi | 47 | 26% | 26% |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 4.7 mi | 50.4 | 25% | 27% |
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 Three Legged Cross’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 Three Legged Cross’s residents
What is the population of Three Legged Cross?
The 2021 Census counted 1,129 people in Three Legged Cross’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Three Legged Cross?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 29% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Three Legged Cross?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Three Legged Cross?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is Three Legged Cross good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Three Legged Cross’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.