Church of St George, Reforne · Photo: 1] · CC BY-SA 3.0A higher share of households in terraced houses than 99% of UK towns, at 56%
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, above 88% of UK towns. There were 2,289 households in Weston at the 2021 Census, home to 5,208 residents. In Weston, 11% of households live in a detached house. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Weston’s people
More with no religion than most
49% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 42% 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.
Weston changed by +7% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 51% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Weston’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,100 people in 2011; 5,500 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +47% for the 65 and over to −2% for the 16 to 29. No year added more people than mid-2022 to mid-2023: 90.
In Weston, 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 69% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.8% of residents. By way of comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. The median age in Weston is 46.6, higher than in nearly two thirds of UK towns. In Ashley Heath, the oldest of Dorset’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Weston, 46.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.9% of adults are full-time students in Weston
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, 11% of residents lived at another address a year earlier; in Weston, 9.4%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 7.9% across England’s towns.
Weston ranks below 69% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 25%
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.
29% of households are one person living alone, against 30% across England’s towns. At 2.8%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is higher than in 71% of UK towns. There are 2.3 people in the average household.
A larger share of households in flats than 75% of UK towns: 17%
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
The share of households without a car or van tops 71% of UK towns: 20%. Households in flats make up 23% across England’s towns.
3.9% of residents were born outside the UK, below 79% 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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
With residents whose main language is English at 99%, Weston is ahead of 85% of UK towns on that count. Set beside that, 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%).
49% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 92% 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 Weston · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Christians make up just over two in five residents, against 46% across England’s towns. On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (1.8%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.2%).
Weston sits below 63% of UK towns for adults who have never married (30%)
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
207 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Set beside that, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 44%; Weston has 48%.
23% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 23% of adults in Weston, 34% across England’s towns; 17% have no qualification, against 18%.
516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 236th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Barton on Sea the oldest (65.3). Nearest to Weston in age: Bricket Wood (46.6), Virginia Water (46.6), Hebden Bridge (46.7) and Melbourne (46.7).
Weston sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weston | 5,208 | — | 46.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Southwell | 1,700 | 0.9 mi | 55 | 33% | 19% |
| Grove | 1,032 | 1 mi | 33.9 | 12% | 30% |
| Fortuneswell | 4,554 | 1.3 mi | 45.9 | 18% | 24% |
| Weymouth | 55,540 | 5.3 mi | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Chickerell | 3,973 | 6 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 11.5 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Crossways | 2,494 | 11.7 mi | 49 | 27% | 24% |
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 Weston’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. Weston’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,305 people in 2021, against 5,208 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 Weston’s residents
What is the population of Weston?
The 2021 Census counted 5,208 people in Weston’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,500 people in mid-2024, 7% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Weston?
The median age was 46.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 66% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Weston?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 3.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Weston?
49% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is Weston good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Weston’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.