Photo: My another account · Public domainOlder than 87% of UK towns: half of Dilton Marsh is over 50.4
28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 39% across England’s towns. Dilton Marsh’s 833 households held 1,958 residents at the 2021 Census. Locally, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children. Compared with other places, one-person households are scarce here: 27%, fewer than in three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Dilton Marsh’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Dilton Marsh’s residents are under 50.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 65 or over, against 18% across England’s towns. Ages ↓
Many carers
220 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 12% of those 5 and over: more than in 95% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Dilton Marsh ranks above 78% of UK towns on residents aged 65 and over: 26%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across England’s towns. On average, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns. In Dilton Marsh, 9.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
Dilton Marsh ranks below 92% of UK towns on full-time students: 3.7%
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 Dilton Marsh, just over a third of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Nearly one in ten residents had moved in within the year before the Census, fewer than the 11% across England’s towns. The share of full-time students across England’s towns is 7.9%.
Dilton Marsh households average 2.4 people, larger than in 71% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Wiltshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
At 4.3%, shared households of unrelated adults sit close to the figure across England’s towns.
Fewer households in flats than 87% of UK towns: 4.1%
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
Across England’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house; in Dilton Marsh, 18%. On households without a car or van, Dilton Marsh sits lower than 85% of UK towns: 9.5%. Against that, 23% of households live in a flat or apartment across England’s towns. Here, 46% of households live in a detached house.
In Dilton Marsh, 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 75% 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
5.8% of residents were born outside the UK (England’s towns: 18%). Across England’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 90%. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.2%) or in Africa (1.1%).
44% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 72% 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: 93% of Dilton Marsh · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (4.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.7%) and African (0.1%). Elsewhere, 37% of residents said they have no religion across England’s towns. Against a figure of 46% across England’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian in Dilton Marsh comes in at 49%.
12% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 95% 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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 76. Across England’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 8.7%. 53% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, more than in 78% of UK towns.
30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 34% across England’s towns, 30% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 17% hold no qualification (18%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Dilton Marsh
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dilton Marsh | 1,958 | — | 50.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Westbury | 16,394 | 1.7 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 29% |
| Beckington | 1,001 | 3.2 mi | 50.2 | 28% | 27% |
| Warminster | 18,018 | 3.3 mi | 46 | 24% | 24% |
| North Bradley | 1,555 | 3.4 mi | 51.5 | 31% | 24% |
| Southwick | 1,856 | 3.5 mi | 46.9 | 26% | 28% |
| Bratton | 1,172 | 4.3 mi | 52.6 | 29% | 23% |
| Frome | 27,904 | 4.5 mi | 42.6 | 20% | 29% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Wiltshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Wiltshire (or England), summed the same way as Dilton Marsh’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 Dilton Marsh’s residents
What is the population of Dilton Marsh?
The 2021 Census counted 1,958 people in Dilton Marsh’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Dilton Marsh?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dilton Marsh?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dilton Marsh?
44% said they had no religion and 49% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Dilton Marsh good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Dilton Marsh’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.