Photo: Mike Faherty · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 57.7: West Parley is older than 98% of UK towns
Nearly a quarter of households are one person living alone (England’s towns: 30%). There were 1,597 households in West Parley at the 2021 Census, home to 3,665 residents. In West Parley, 62% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. Fewer households without a car or van than in 94% of UK towns: 7.5%.
What the Census says about West Parley’s people
Older than most towns
Half of West Parley’s residents are under 57.7 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 38% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
414 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 94% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
38% of residents are 65 or over, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Against a figure of 12% across England’s towns, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 in West Parley comes in at 7.3%. Measured more widely, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Parley, 57.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
In West Parley, 3.3% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 97% of UK towns
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%.
In West Parley, 41% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 17% 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. The census found that one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier in the town.
Households with dependent children: 18%, a lower share than 97% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 3.8%, close to the figure across England’s towns. To put it in context, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. Households average 2.3 people.
Below 99% of UK towns: 0.8% of households live in a terraced house
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 detached houses make up 88%, against 21% across England’s towns. Here, nearly one in ten households live in a flat or apartment. Across England’s towns, households in terraced houses come to 24%.
More residents whose main language is English than 92% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Of residents born abroad, 7.4% arrived in 2017 or later, against 21% across England’s towns. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. The share of residents born outside the UK stands at 5.8%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 59%, a higher share than 93% 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: 95% of West Parley · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 87% across Dorset’s towns and 73% across England’s towns. Locally, just over a third of residents said they have no religion. Elsewhere, 46% of residents describe themselves as Christian across England’s towns.
21% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer 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
Unpaid carers make up 12% of residents, against 8.7% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for adults who have never married is 39% across England’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 104.
31% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of West Parley’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 16% have none (18%).
Ranked by age, 17th oldest of 530 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to West Parley in age: High Lane (57.2), Holt (57.5), Preesall and Knott End-on-Sea (57.9) and Westward Ho! (58).
West Parley is younger than 2 of its 7 nearest neighbours
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 Parley | 3,665 | — | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 1.1 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 2.1 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 2.5 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Bournemouth | 196,453 | 3.5 mi | 39.1 | 18% | 25% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 3.6 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | 3.9 mi | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Ashley Heath | 7,151 | 4 mi | 60.6 | 42% | 16% |
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 Parley’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 Parley’s residents
What is the population of West Parley?
The 2021 Census counted 3,665 people in West Parley’s built-up area.
What is the average age in West Parley?
The median age was 57.7 at the 2021 Census, older than 98% of UK towns. 7.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 38% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Parley?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Parley?
34% said they had no religion and 59% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is West Parley good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on West Parley’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.