Photo: Bellminsterboy · CC BY-SA 4.028% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 85% of UK towns
Across England’s towns, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British; in Wimborne Minster, 95%. 16,629 residents in 7,486 households: that is Wimborne Minster at the 2021 Census. Census figures put households in detached houses at 42% here. The town has fewer adults who have never married than 83% of UK towns, at 27%.
What the Census says about Wimborne Minster’s people
Many older residents
28% of residents were 65 or over in 2021, more than in 85% of UK towns; 18% of households are someone 66 or over living alone. Ages ↓
Growing faster than most
ONS mid-year estimates put Wimborne Minster at 15,200 in 2011 and 18,300 in 2024, up 21%, against 10% for England: faster growth than in 87% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
+21% since 2011, a pace 87% of UK towns didn’t match
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Wimborne Minster’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 15,200 people in 2011; 18,300 in 2024.
No year added more people than mid-2020 to mid-2021: 590. By age, the 0 to 15 group changed most (+33%) and the 45 to 64 group least (+5%).
Half of Wimborne Minster is over 48.6, older than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 74% of UK towns: 9%. In Ashley Heath, the oldest of Dorset’s towns by this measure, it is 42%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Wimborne Minster, 48.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across England, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Residents who moved in within the year make up 11% in Wimborne Minster, more than in 88% 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 Wimborne Minster, 42% and 20%. On the census count, 4.8% of adults are full-time students.
Smaller households than 73% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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 have dependent children across England’s towns, against 26% in Wimborne Minster. Across Wimborne Minster, 2.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. Few places have as many one-person households: 32% here, more than in 67% of UK towns.
More households in flats than 85% of UK towns: 21%
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
Where nearly a quarter of households have no car or van across England’s towns, Wimborne Minster has 13%. 16% of households live in a terraced house. Set beside that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents whose main language is English than 81% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.5%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Few places have so few residents born outside the UK: 5.7% here, fewer than in 57% of UK towns. Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Arrivals from 2017 on account for just over one in ten residents born abroad, beside 21% across England’s towns.
Above 63% of UK towns: 43% of residents said they have no religion
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 Wimborne Minster · Dorset’s towns 87% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.2%). On average, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Half of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 50% of UK towns.
51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 70% 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 giving 50 hours or more a week: 402. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 9.4% here, more than in 51% of UK towns. Married adults and civil partners: 44% across England’s towns, for comparison.
Degree-level qualifications reach 37% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
37% of Wimborne Minster’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 34% across England’s towns; 14% have none (18%).
From a median age of 48 in Wimborne Minster to 50 in Colehill
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Colehill is the oldest area, with 28% aged 65 or over; Wimborne Minster the youngest (median age 48). Families with children are most common in Colehill (28% of households).
322 UK towns of 12,000 to 22,000 people: this is the 46th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 25 in Aberystwyth to 60.4 in Sidmouth. Nearest to Wimborne Minster in age: Maghull (48.4), Knaresborough (48.6), Dorchester (48.7) and Conwy (48.7).
Of the 7 towns nearest Wimborne Minster, 4 are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wimborne Minster | 16,629 | — | 48.6 | 28% | 26% |
| Merley | 5,489 | 1.5 mi | 48.7 | 30% | 25% |
| Bearwood | 4,134 | 3.1 mi | 42.2 | 21% | 27% |
| Corfe Mullen | 10,036 | 3.2 mi | 47.8 | 24% | 28% |
| Ferndown | 13,267 | 3.3 mi | 58.6 | 40% | 17% |
| West Parley | 3,665 | 3.9 mi | 57.7 | 38% | 18% |
| West Moors | 10,432 | 4 mi | 56.5 | 38% | 19% |
| Sturminster Marshall | 1,504 | 4.7 mi | 48.4 | 24% | 30% |
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 Wimborne Minster’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. Wimborne Minster’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 16,774 people in 2021, against 16,629 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 Wimborne Minster’s residents
What is the population of Wimborne Minster?
The 2021 Census counted 16,629 people in Wimborne Minster’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,300 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Wimborne Minster?
The median age was 48.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Wimborne Minster?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 87% across Dorset’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Wimborne Minster?
43% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Wimborne Minster good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Colehill (28% of households). Schools are on Wimborne Minster’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.