Photo: Chris Downer · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 52.2: West Knighton is older than 92% of UK towns
Adults who have never married make up 21%, against 39% across England’s towns. Across West Knighton, 0.3% of households live in a flat or apartment. On one-person households, West Knighton sits lower than 98% of UK towns: 20%. Census day 2021: 719 residents and 297 households in the village.
28% of West Knighton is 65 or over, a higher share than 86% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
With residents aged 15 to 24 at 9%, West Knighton is behind 73% of UK towns on that count. Elsewhere, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
West Knighton ranks below 92% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.7%
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, the share of residents who moved in within the year is 11%; West Knighton has 9.2%. The usual figure: 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
West Knighton households average 2.4 people, larger than in 78% 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.
Just over a quarter of households have dependent children; across England’s towns the figure is 29%. Locally, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
57% of households live in a detached house, more than in 95% 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
Households without a car or van: 8.1%, below 92% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a detached house. Census figures put households in terraced houses at 12% in West Knighton.
West Knighton ranks above 99% of UK towns on residents whose main language is English: 100%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%) and in EU countries (0.8%). Lower than in 86% of UK towns: 3.3% of residents were born outside the UK. The share of residents whose main language is English across England’s towns is 90%.
Above 96% of UK towns: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British
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 West Knighton · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
By its share of residents who describe themselves as Christian (52%), West Knighton is above 65% of UK towns. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Mixed or multiple (1.4%), Other White (0.7%) and Indian (0.1%). Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 73% across England’s towns.
63% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 19 residents. The usual figure: 44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across England’s towns. At 9%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across England’s towns.
40% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 40% of adults in West Knighton (England’s towns: 34%), and no qualification by 13% (England’s towns: 18%).
West Knighton is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Knighton | 719 | — | 52.2 | 28% | 26% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 2.3 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 3.3 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Puddletown | 1,193 | 4.5 mi | 51.1 | 28% | 25% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 4.8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
| Charlton Down | 1,487 | 5.7 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 31% |
| Weymouth | 55,540 | 6.1 mi | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Wool | 5,044 | 6.7 mi | 37.6 | 17% | 33% |
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 West Knighton’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 West Knighton’s residents
What is the population of West Knighton?
The 2021 Census counted 719 people in West Knighton’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Knighton?
The median age was 52.2 at the 2021 Census. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Knighton?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Knighton?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7% didn’t answer.
Is West Knighton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Knighton’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.