Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Verwood sits above 99% of UK towns for households in detached houses (67%)
Where 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns, Verwood has 57%. There were 5,835 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 13,706 residents. For Verwood, the census puts residents who describe themselves as White British at 96%. Just over one in ten households live in a terraced house, a lower share than in 87% of UK towns.
Since 2011, Verwood has changed by +4%, slower than 65% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Verwood’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 13,700 people in 2011; 14,300 in 2024.
Mid-2020 to mid-2021 brought the biggest yearly rise, 210 people.
Half of Verwood is over 49, older than 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns, against 9.2% in Verwood. The share of residents aged 65 and over stands at 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Verwood, 49. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 4.2% of adults are full-time students in Verwood
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 work; in Verwood, 40% and 19%. For full-time students, the comparison across England’s towns is 7.9%. Here, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier.
A smaller share of one-person households than 90% of UK towns: 24%
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.
Households average 2.4 people, against 2.4 across England’s towns. For Verwood, the census puts households with dependent children at 26%. The wider picture: 30% of households are one person living alone across England’s towns.
Fewer households without a car or van than 93% of UK towns: 7.5%
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
In Verwood, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment, beside 23% across England’s towns. One household in every 13 has no car or van.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 92% of UK towns, at 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
5.2% of residents were born outside the UK; across England’s towns the figure is 18%. By way of comparison, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 53% in Verwood, more than in 68% 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: 96% of Verwood · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.2%). Set beside that, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns. Against a figure of 37% across England’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Verwood comes in at 40%.
Verwood ranks below 92% of UK towns on adults who have never married: 25%
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
On the census count, 9.2% of residents give unpaid care. Against that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns.
30% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 30% of its adults qualified to degree level, Verwood compares with 34% across England’s towns; another 14% hold no qualification (18%).
Of 360 UK towns its size (10,000 to 19,000 people), the 52nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Verwood in age: Romiley (49), Aldridge (49), Ulverston (49.1) and Penzance (49.2).
Around Verwood, 5 of 7 towns have a higher median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verwood | 13,706 | — | 49 | 28% | 26% |
| Three Legged Cross | 1,129 | 1.6 mi | 48.3 | 29% | 29% |
| Alderholt | 2,868 | 3.1 mi | 50.4 | 25% | 27% |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 3.3 mi | 60.6 | 42% | 16% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 3.9 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
| Ringwood | 12,789 | 4.6 mi | 47 | 26% | 26% |
| Sandleheath | 1,546 | 4.7 mi | 52.7 | 31% | 26% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 5.1 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
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 Verwood’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. Verwood’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 14,044 people in 2021, against 13,706 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 Verwood’s residents
What is the population of Verwood?
The 2021 Census counted 13,706 people in Verwood’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 14,300 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Verwood?
The median age was 49 at the 2021 Census, older than 80% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Verwood?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Verwood?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Verwood good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Verwood’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.