Photo: ITookSomePhotos · CC BY-SA 4.0Only 21% of households have dependent children in Weymouth
One-person households: 34%, above 84% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 55,540 people lived in Weymouth, in 25,605 households. Across Weymouth, 25% of households live in a flat or apartment. 22% of households have no car or van, a higher share than in 79% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Weymouth’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Weymouth’s residents are under 50.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
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.
Weymouth’s population moved +4% on 2011, less than in 69% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Weymouth’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 55,000 people in 2011; 56,900 in 2024.
Growth was strongest among the 65 and over (+32%) and weakest among the 16 to 29 (−11%). Between mid-2016 and mid-2017 the population rose by 410, its biggest one-year gain.
Weymouth is older than 86% of UK towns: a median age of 50.2
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across England’s towns. Locally, 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Weymouth, 50.2. 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.
4% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 83% 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%.
Across England’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine work; in Weymouth, 31% and 27%. For comparison, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns. In Weymouth, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 86% 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 3.5%, close to the figure across England’s towns.
27% of households live in a detached house, below 57% 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
The figure for households in terraced houses is 25% in Weymouth and 24% across England’s towns. Across England’s towns, 21% of households live in a detached house.
98% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 52% 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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (3.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%). The usual figure: nine in ten residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born outside the UK are rarer here than in 51% of UK towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are 13% of those born abroad (against 21% across England’s towns).
More residents with no religion than 71% of UK towns: 44%
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 Weymouth · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The figure for residents who describe themselves as White British is 94% in Weymouth and 73% across England’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Weymouth sits lower than 62% of UK towns: 48%. Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. After White British, the largest groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Chinese (0.2%).
10% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 71% 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
With adults who have never married at 31%, Weymouth is behind 57% of UK towns on that count. The benchmark for unpaid carers across England’s towns: 8.7%. Married adults and civil partners: 45% of the total.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Weymouth counts 27% of its adults, against 34% across England’s towns; at the other end, 17% have no qualification (18%).
From a median age of 43 in Broadwey & Littlemoor to 59 in Preston & Lodmoor
The town’s 9 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Preston & Lodmoor is the oldest area, with 40% aged 65 or over; Broadwey & Littlemoor the youngest (median age 43). Families with children are most common in Broadwey & Littlemoor (27% of households).
Of 123 UK towns its size (39,000 to 75,000 people), the 5th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Canterbury (27.5) and the oldest Lytham St Anne's (54.4). Nearest to Weymouth in age: Bognor Regis (48.3), Paignton (48.4), Clacton-on-Sea (50.4) and Christchurch (51.7).
Older than Weymouth: 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weymouth | 55,540 | — | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Chickerell | 3,973 | 1.6 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 27% |
| Fortuneswell | 4,554 | 4 mi | 45.9 | 18% | 24% |
| Grove | 1,032 | 5.1 mi | 33.9 | 12% | 30% |
| Weston | 5,208 | 5.3 mi | 46.6 | 24% | 25% |
| Southwell | 1,700 | 6.1 mi | 55 | 33% | 19% |
| Dorchester | 21,358 | 6.4 mi | 48.7 | 28% | 23% |
| Charminster | 1,732 | 8 mi | 49.7 | 28% | 26% |
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 Weymouth’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. Weymouth’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 56,098 people in 2021, against 55,540 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 Weymouth’s residents
What is the population of Weymouth?
The 2021 Census counted 55,540 people in Weymouth’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 56,900 people in mid-2024, 4% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Weymouth?
The median age was 50.2 at the 2021 Census, older than 86% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Weymouth?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 6.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Weymouth?
44% said they had no religion and 48% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Weymouth good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Broadwey & Littlemoor (27% of households). Schools are on Weymouth’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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.