Photo: Philip Pankhurst · CC BY-SA 2.0Dorstone is older than 97% of UK towns: a median age of 55.2
Across England’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone; in Dorstone, 25%. The share of households without a car or van stands at 5.4%. Higher than in 99% of UK towns: 80% of households live in a detached house. At the 2021 Census, 385 people lived locally, in 166 households.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 31% in Dorstone, more than in 92% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
60–64 is the most common age band: 9.9% of residents, 1.8 times the share across England’s towns. On the census count, 8.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24. For comparison, 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.
6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 92% 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%.
Here 4.2% of adults are full-time students, where the figure across England’s towns is 7.9%. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across England’s towns.
Only 19% of households have dependent children in Dorstone
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Herefordshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 3.6%, close to the figure across England’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Few flats: only 1.2% of households in Dorstone live in one
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 terraced houses: 7.3%, below 94% of UK towns. The share of households in flats across England’s towns is 23%.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 85% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across England’s towns the share born abroad is 18%; in Dorstone it is 6.7%. Typically, 90% of residents have English as their main language across England’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.6%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (2.6%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95%, a higher share than 74% 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 Dorstone · Herefordshire’s towns 90% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
40% of residents said they have no religion (England’s towns: 37%). In Dorstone, 51% of residents describe themselves as Christian. Measured more widely, 73% of residents describe themselves as White British across England’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 60% in Dorstone, more than in 98% 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
Across England’s towns, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Dorstone, 25%. 8.9% of residents give unpaid care, a lower share than in 62% of UK towns. The share of married adults and civil partners across England’s towns is 44%.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 40%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Dorstone’s adults: 40% with a degree-level qualification and 12% with none, against 34% and 18% across England’s towns.
Older than Dorstone: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dorstone | 385 | — | 55.2 | 31% | 19% |
| Hay-on-Wye | 2,065 | 5.3 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 18% |
| Kingstone | 1,500 | 7.8 mi | 40.1 | 18% | 33% |
| Weobley | 1,273 | 8.2 mi | 56.2 | 36% | 20% |
| Credenhill | 2,334 | 8.6 mi | 36.8 | 15% | 39% |
| Clehonger | 1,218 | 8.9 mi | 46.1 | 27% | 25% |
| Kington | 2,423 | 9.4 mi | 50.3 | 28% | 20% |
| Ewyas Harold | 1,037 | 9.6 mi | 50.6 | 30% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Herefordshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Herefordshire (or England), summed the same way as Dorstone’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 Dorstone’s residents
What is the population of Dorstone?
The 2021 Census counted 385 people in Dorstone’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Dorstone?
The median age was 55.2 at the 2021 Census. 8.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dorstone?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 90% across Herefordshire’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dorstone?
40% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.8% didn’t answer.
Is Dorstone good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Dorstone’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.