Comparators
Total Percentage Dorset Council England and Wales
All Persons 92,272 - 389,947 61,806,682
All Males 44,816 48.6% 48.5% 49.0%
All Females 47,456 51.4% 51.5% 51.0%
0-15 yrs 14,528 15.7% 14.9% 18.3%
16-64 yrs 50,646 54.9% 54.6% 62.8%
65+ yrs 27,098 29.4% 30.5% 18.9%
Male 0-15 yrs 7,283 7.9% 7.6% 9.4%
Male 16-64 yrs 25,067 27.2% 26.8% 31.0%
Male 65+ yrs 12,466 13.5% 14.1% 8.7%
Female 0-15 yrs 7,245 7.9% 7.3% 8.9%
Female 16-64 yrs 25,579 27.7% 27.8% 31.9%
Female 65+ yrs 14,632 15.9% 16.4% 10.2%

Show Male/Female individual age breakdown

Source: Mid Year Estimates (2024), Office for National Statistics

Change Birth Rate per 1,000
2005 - 8.6
2006 -1.2% 8.5
2007 4.7% 8.9
2008 2.2% 9.1
2009 3.3% 9.4
2010 -6.4% 8.8
2011 3.4% 9.1
2012 4.4% 9.5
2013 -6.3% 8.9
2014 -9.0% 8.1
2015 7.4% 8.7
2016 -6.9% 8.1
2017 4.9% 8.5
2018 -10.6% 7.6
2019 -1.3% 7.5
2020 -5.3% 7.1
2021 -2.8% 6.9
2022 2.9% 7.1
2023 -8.5% 6.5
2024 4.6% 6.8
Change Death Rate per 1,000
2005 - 10.4
2006 -8.7% 9.5
2007 4.2% 9.9
2008 4.0% 10.3
2009 -8.7% 9.4
2010 0% 9.4
2011 9.6% 10.3
2012 -8.7% 9.4
2013 -1.1% 9.3
2014 10.8% 10.3
2015 1.9% 10.5
2016 -8.6% 9.6
2017 18.8% 11.4
2018 -3.5% 11.0
2019 1.8% 11.2
2020 5.4% 11.8
2021 -11.9% 10.4
2022 15.4% 12.0
2023 10.0% 13.2
2024 2.3% 13.5

Source: Office for National Statistics


93%

White British

7%

BME (black and minority ethnic population)

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


NINO Registrations

National Insurance number allocations to adult overseas nationals entering the UK

NINO Data only available at National and Unitary level. View NINO Data for Dorset Council


Religion

% Christian 53.7%
% Non-Christian 2%
% No religion 37%
% Religion not stated 7.3%

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Country of Birth

Country of Birth data is only available at National and Unitary level.


Health

82.2% of residents reported having very good or good health.

% Very Good Health 46.6%
% Good Health 35.6%
% Fair Health 13.3%
% Bad Health 3.6%
% Very Bad Health 0.9%

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Unpaid care

8.8% of residents aged 5 and over provide unpaid care.

6.2%

Residents aged 5 and over providing up to 50 hours of unpaid care per week

2.6%

Residents aged 5 and over providing more than 50 hours of unpaid care per week


Communal establishments

4.2% of residents live in communal establishments.

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


MOSAIC

Mosaic is a socio-demographic data set that segments households into particular groups based upon their characteristics. It is used to gain a deeper understanding of residents, their beliefs, preferences and lifestyles Learn more

The highest proportion of residents are classified as
Country Living (33.8%)

Followed by
Rural Reality (21%)

And then
Senior Security (8.3%)

Source: Mosaic 2021, EXPERIAN


Living Arrangements

All Households 39,001
% of households with one person 66+ or couple/family all aged 66+ 33.1%
% of households married or same sex civil partnership with/without dependents* 31.3%
% of households cohabiting with/without dependents* 10%
% of households lone parents* 7.8%
% all others** 17.7%

* may include members aged 66+, but not all

** may include households all aged 66+ but not a family

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Tenure

% Owner Occupied 69%
% Public Rented 13.3%
% Private Rented 17.6%
% Other 0%

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Dwelling type

Detached 40%
Semi-Detached 29.3%
Terraced 19.6%
Flats/Maisonettes 10.5%
Mobile Homes/Caravans 0.6%

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


% no cars or vans in household11.6%
% 2 or more cars or vans in a household47.7%

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Local business units

Total Percentage
Total businesses 5,630 -
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 890 15.81%
Wholesale, retail and repair 815 14.48%
Construction 795 14.12%
Professional, scientific and technical activities 650 11.55%
Administrative and support service activities 360 6.39%
Manufacturing 350 6.22%
Accommodation and food services 310 5.51%
Information and communications 220 3.91%
Real estate activities 220 3.91%
Human heath and social work activites 220 3.91%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 175 3.11%
Transportation and storage 140 2.49%
Education 125 2.22%
Financial and insurance activities 75 1.33%
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 75 1.33%
Water, sewerage and waste management 25 0.44%
Mining and quarrying 5 0.09%
Electricity, gas, steam and air 5 0.09%

Source: UK Business: Activity, Size and Location (2025), ONS


Business size bands

Total businesses 5,630 -
Micro (0 to 9 employees) 4,935 87.66%
Small (10 to 49 employees) 580 10.30%
Medium (50 to 249 employees) 105 1.87%
Large (250+ employees) 10 0.18%

Source: UK Business: Activity, Size and Location (2025), ONS


Employment of workers by sector

These figures exclude farm agriculture.

Total Percentage
All industries 32,000 -
Wholesale, retail and repair 6,000 18.75%
Education 5,000 15.63%
Manufacturing 4,000 12.50%
Human heath and social work activites 3,500 10.94%
Accommodation and food services 3,000 9.38%
Construction 2,250 7.03%
Arts, entertainment and recreation 1,850 5.78%
Professional, scientific and technical activities 1,750 5.47%
Information and communications 1,250 3.91%
Administrative and support service activities 1,250 3.91%
Public administration and defence; compulsory social security 1,000 3.13%
Transportation and storage 800 2.50%
Real estate activities 700 2.19%
Financial and insurance activities 300 0.94%
Water, sewerage and waste management 225 0.70%
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 150 0.47%
Mining and quarrying 10 0.03%
Electricity, gas, steam and air 5 0.02%

Source: BRES (2024), ONS


Claimant unemployment

These figures refer to the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance plus those who claim Universal Credit who are out of work.

Date RangeAvg. Number of ClaimantsAvg. Rate of Claimants
October 2024 to December 20241,2702.5%
January 2025 to March 20251,2902.5%
April 2025 to June 20251,2602.5%
July 2025 to September 20251,2302.4%

Source: Office for National Statistics


Skills

39,948

All usual residents aged 16 and over in Employment (includes students in employment)

42.8%

High skill occupation

40.3%

Intermediate skill occupation

17%

Low skill occupation

Source: 2021 Census, Office for National Statistics.


Gross weekly full time earnings

Earnings data is only available at National and Unitary level.


Top