Photo: My another account · Public domainA median age of 52.9: Tisbury is older than 94% of UK towns
A fifth of households have dependent children (England’s towns: 29%). The 2021 Census counted 2,274 residents in 1,102 households. The census found that 37% of households are one person living alone in Tisbury. At 28%, the share of adults who have never married is lower than in 80% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Tisbury’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Tisbury’s residents are under 52.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% 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).
7.5% of residents are aged 15 to 24, below 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 65 and over is 31%, against 18% across England’s towns. Set beside that, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across England’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
Fewer full-time students than 83% of UK towns: 4%
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 Tisbury, a third of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 22% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 24% across England’s towns. Fewer residents who moved in within the year than in 64% of UK towns: 8%. On average, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
Tisbury households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 95% 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.
Against a figure of 4.3% across England’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults in Tisbury comes in at 1.7%.
In Tisbury, 18% of households live in a terraced house, fewer than in 59% 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
Just over a fifth of households live in a detached house across England’s towns, against 32% in Tisbury. Here, 15% of households have no car or van. Elsewhere, 24% of households live in a terraced house across England’s towns.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 69% of UK towns, at 8.8%
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (4.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.5%). Higher than in 63% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Across England’s towns, 18% of residents were born outside the UK.
Tisbury sits above 69% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (53%)
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 Tisbury · Wiltshire’s towns 84% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
In Tisbury, 40% of residents said they have no religion, beside 37% across England’s towns. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 46% across England’s towns. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as White British at 94% here.
A larger share of married adults and civil partners than 53% of UK towns: 48%
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
47 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Married adults and civil partners make up 44% across England’s towns. At 9.3%, unpaid carers sit close to the figure across England’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 36% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
16% of Tisbury’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 36% have one at degree level (34%).
Nearby, 1 of 7 towns have older populations than Tisbury
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tisbury | 2,274 | — | 52.9 | 31% | 20% |
| Shaftesbury | 9,163 | 6 mi | 44.2 | 24% | 26% |
| Motcombe | 1,366 | 6.2 mi | 52.7 | 28% | 22% |
| Mere | 2,808 | 8.1 mi | 55.4 | 35% | 17% |
| Gillingham | 11,009 | 8.7 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 24% |
| Wilton | 4,300 | 9.6 mi | 45.4 | 24% | 23% |
| Warminster | 18,018 | 10.5 mi | 46 | 24% | 24% |
| Shrewton | 1,722 | 11.8 mi | 52.4 | 25% | 22% |
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 Tisbury’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 Tisbury’s residents
What is the population of Tisbury?
The 2021 Census counted 2,274 people in Tisbury’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Tisbury?
The median age was 52.9 at the 2021 Census. 7.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tisbury?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 84% across Wiltshire’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tisbury?
40% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Tisbury good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Schools are on Tisbury’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.