Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0In Upton, 47% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 87% of UK towns
Compared with 30% across England’s towns, 27% of households are one person living alone here. Upton counted 8,401 residents and 3,561 households at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households without a car or van at 11% in the town. At 3.5%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is higher than in 86% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Upton’s people
More with no religion than most
47% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 45% Christian, against 37% and 46% across England’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
+9% since 2011, a pace 59% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Upton’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 8,000 people in 2011; 8,800 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+37%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−4%). No year added more people than mid-2017 to mid-2018: 130.
Above 60% of UK towns: 23% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.2% of residents. The median age in Upton is 44.8, higher than in 52% of UK towns. For comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Upton, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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 smaller share of full-time students than 75% of UK towns: 4.2%
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%.
By class, 31% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 28% in routine and semi-routine work (England’s towns: 33% and 24%). As a yardstick, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. Here, 8.4% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Larger households than 66% of UK towns: 2.3 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.
28% of households have dependent children, more than in 55% of UK towns.
37% of households live in a detached house, a share 69% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Households in flats: 13%, above 61% of UK towns. As a yardstick, 21% of households live in a detached house across England’s towns. Here, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 58% of UK towns: 5.6%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). Compared with other places, residents whose main language is English are common here: 98%, more than in 60% of UK towns. On average, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Since 2017: 7.3% of those born abroad, against 21% across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 94%, a higher share than 67% 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: 94% of Upton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 45%, below 76% of UK towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (1.5%) and Indian (0.3%). Typically, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
More married adults and civil partners than 61% of UK towns: 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 Upton, 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, beside 39% across England’s towns. Higher than in 55% of UK towns: 9.5% of residents give unpaid care. Across England’s towns, married adults and civil partners come to 44%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 24% of adults in Upton (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 18% (England’s towns: 18%).
Among 424 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000 people, the 207th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Tidworth is the youngest (28.4); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Upton in age: Cottenham (44.8), Yatton (44.8), Fazeley (44.9) and Sawbridgeworth (44.9).
Older than Upton: 5 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Upton | 8,401 | — | 44.8 | 23% | 28% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 2.4 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Lytchett Matravers | 3,455 | 2.7 mi | 48.8 | 28% | 27% |
| Poole | 141,009 | 2.9 mi | 44.6 | 23% | 26% |
| Sandford | 2,004 | 3.7 mi | 52 | 29% | 26% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 4.2 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 4.7 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 4.7 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
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 Upton’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. Upton’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 8,648 people in 2021, against 8,401 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 Upton’s residents
What is the population of Upton?
The 2021 Census counted 8,401 people in Upton’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 8,800 people in mid-2024, 9% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Upton?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2021 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Upton?
94% 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 Upton?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Upton good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Upton’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.