Former Methodist Chapel to East of Martyrs' Cottages · Photo: Michael Dibb · CC BY-SA 2.0Older than 94% of UK towns: half of Tolpuddle is over 53.2
The figure for households without a car or van is 4% in Tolpuddle and 24% across England’s towns. There were 222 households in the village at the 2021 Census, home to 518 residents. On the census count, 18% of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 14%, more than in 99% of UK towns.
Tolpuddle ranks below 99% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 7%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over tops 83% of UK towns: 27%. As a reference point, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 87 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 96% of UK towns, at 3.4%
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%.
8.5% of residents lived at another address a year before the Census, against 11% across England’s towns. As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Only 23% of households have dependent children in Tolpuddle
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 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Tolpuddle comes in at 1.8%. There are 2.3 people in the average household. As a reference point, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns.
Households in flats make up 1.8% in Tolpuddle, less than in 97% 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
Here 48% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across England’s towns is 21%. Across England’s towns, the share of households in flats is 23%. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 16% in Tolpuddle.
Residents whose main language is English make up 99% in Tolpuddle, more than in 98% 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
The figure for residents born outside the UK is 5.6% in Tolpuddle and 18% across England’s towns. To put it in context, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.7%).
Tolpuddle sits above 93% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as White British (97%)
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: 97% of Tolpuddle · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Tolpuddle, just over a third of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. Elsewhere, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns. Locally, 58% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Adults who have never married make up 19% in Tolpuddle, less than in 99% 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
7 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Across England’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 39%. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 60%, more than in 98% of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 42% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Tolpuddle counts 42% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 8.8% have no qualification (18%).
The towns around Tolpuddle 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tolpuddle | 518 | — | 53.2 | 27% | 23% |
| Milborne St Andrew | 1,090 | 2.1 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 21% |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 2.3 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Bere Regis | 1,320 | 3.2 mi | 50.5 | 28% | 22% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 3.9 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
| Wool | 5,044 | 4.7 mi | 37.6 | 17% | 33% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 7.1 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 7.2 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
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 Tolpuddle’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 Tolpuddle’s residents
What is the population of Tolpuddle?
The 2021 Census counted 518 people in Tolpuddle’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Tolpuddle?
The median age was 53.2 at the 2021 Census. 7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tolpuddle?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tolpuddle?
34% said they had no religion and 58% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.7% didn’t answer.
Is Tolpuddle good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Tolpuddle’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.