Socio-economic statistics for Dorchester, Dorset

Is Dorchester in Dorset a nice place to live or is it a bit rough? We have collated a series of socio-economic statistics and demographics from UK government sources such as the 2021 Census and the Index of Multiple Deprivation. They should give you a broad snapshot of the area and the surrounding locations. Are the residents of Dorchester older than the national average or younger? What is the population of Dorchester and Dorset? What is the claimant count in Dorchester and how many residents are unemployed? This page should provide you with the answers.

What are the occupations of the residents of Dorchester?

The largest employment sector in Dorchester is Professional Occupations. The smallest employment sector is Process Plant & Machine Operatives.

Sector	Proportion
Professional Occupations	23.05%
Caring, leisure & Other Services	11.97%
Skilled Trades	11.27%
Associate Professional & Technical	11.1%
Elementary Occupations	10.94%
Managers, Directors & Senior Officials	10.79%
Administrative & Secretarial	8.18%
Process Plant & Machine Operatives	5.13%

Source: Office for National Statistics (30 June 2020)

Dorchester & Dorset Immigration Statistics

We have analysed the Census 2021 raw data on country of birth and compiled immigration statistics as percentages of the population. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. Below are the figures for Dorchester in the Dorset local area district.

Area	Born in UK	Born outside UK
Dorchester West	90.02%	9.98%
Dorset	93.49%	6.51%
South West	89.8%	10.2%
England	82.65%	17.35%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester compared to other wards in Dorset

#	Ward	Born in UK	Born outside UK
1	Melcombe Regis	85.46%	14.54%
2	Cranborne Chase	86.53%	13.47%
3	Sturminster Newton	87.83%	12.17%
4	Dorchester Poundbury	89.34%	10.66%
5	Dorchester West	90.02%	9.98%
6	Sherborne East	90.56%	9.44%
7	Beacon	90.75%	9.25%
8	Sherborne West	91.26%	8.74%
9	Shaftesbury Town	91.52%	8.48%
10	Dorchester East	92.01%	7.99%
11	West Purbeck	92.38%	7.62%
12	Blandford	92.47%	7.53%
13	Hill Forts & Upper Tarrants	92.63%	7.37%
14	Swanage	92.72%	7.28%
15	St Leonards & St Ives	92.77%	7.23%
16	Gillingham	92.86%	7.14%
17	Ferndown South	93.29%	6.71%
18	Ferndown North	93.32%	6.68%
19	Yetminster	93.38%	6.62%
20	Crossways	93.5%	6.5%
21	Wimborne Minster	93.67%	6.33%
22	Westham	93.75%	6.25%
23	Chalk Valleys	93.78%	6.22%
24	Chesil Bank	93.84%	6.16%
25	Radipole	93.86%	6.14%
26	Lyme & Charmouth	93.91%	6.09%
27	South East Purbeck	93.98%	6.02%
28	Bridport	94.05%	5.95%
29	Sherborne Rural	94.17%	5.83%
30	West Parley	94.21%	5.79%
31	Beaminster	94.27%	5.73%
32	West Moors & Three Legged Cross	94.34%	5.66%
33	Charminster St Mary's	94.4%	5.6%
34	Eggardon	94.45%	5.55%
35	Blackmore Vale	94.65%	5.35%
36	Wareham	94.72%	5.28%
37	Lytchett Matravers & Upton	94.78%	5.22%
38	Littlemoor & Preston	94.78%	5.22%
39	Verwood	94.84%	5.16%
40	Corfe Mullen	94.85%	5.15%
41	Rodwell & Wyke	94.86%	5.14%
42	Portland	94.87%	5.13%
43	Colehill & Wimborne Minster East	94.95%	5.05%
44	Upwey & Broadwey	95%	5%
45	Winterborne North	95.12%	4.88%
46	Stalbridge & Marnhull	95.23%	4.77%
47	Marshwood Vale	95.29%	4.71%
48	Chickerell	95.34%	4.66%
49	Puddletown & Lower Winterborne	95.41%	4.59%
50	Cranborne & Alderholt	95.67%	4.33%
51	Winterborne & Broadmayne	95.71%	4.29%
52	Stour & Allen Vale	95.85%	4.15%

';Dorchester is ranked 5 out of 52 wards in Dorset for the number of residents born outside of the UK.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester Health Statistics

Dorchester West has a significantly lower proportion of residents (>5%) describing their health as very good than the national average for England.

Area	VG	G	F	B	VB
Dorchester West	42.86%	35.62%	15.58%	4.6%	1.33%
Dorset	44.88%	35.79%	14.23%	4%	1.1%
South West	47.6%	34.21%	13.12%	3.95%	1.12%
England	48.49%	33.71%	12.65%	3.98%	1.17%

VG = Very Good, G = Good, F = Fair, B = Bad & VB = Very Bad

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester Education Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census to found of the level of education Dorchester residents have in terms of formal qualifications as a percentage. The UK government breaks qualifications down into 7 levels. A detailed explanation of these levels can be found here. However, the Census groups these into just 4 \'levels\'. Here are some examples of the qualifications each census level represents when not stated;

Level 1 - GCSE grades D, E, F, or G & below
Level 2 - GCSE A*, A, B, C or O Level grades A, B or C
Level 3 - A or AS qualification at any grade
Level 4 - HNC, Bachelors Degree, Masters Degree or Phd

In this first table we have compared Dorchester to the national average for England.

Level	Dorchester West	England
No Qualifications	15.35%	18.08%
Level 1	9.76%	9.69%
Level 2	13.93%	13.32%
Apprenticeship	6.17%	5.32%
Level 3	17.12%	16.92%
Level 4	34.71%	33.92%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester Unemployment Statistics

Since the introduction of Universal Credit, The Department for Work & Pensions have not issued any statistics (in our view) that can be used to ascertain the levels of unemployment or under employment in the UK, just meaningless geographic counts. However, the Office of National Statistics does publish claimant counts of people receiving out of work benefits, be that legacy Jobseeker’s Allowance or Universal Credit as a proportion of people over 16. These figures are usually updated once a month and are for Local Authority Districts and Unitary Authority Districts. So below are the figures of Dorset.

Area	Unemployed	Yearly Change
Dorset	2.4%	-0.3%
South West	2.5%	-0.4%
England	3.8%	-0.3%
UK	3.7%	-0.3%

Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS), Last Retrieved: March 2023

The 2021 census had data on people who were economically active (seeking work) yet unemployed on Census day (Sunday March 21st 2021). These statitics do cover Dorchester on a ward level. However, it has to be noted that the Census day was during the height of the Covid19 pandemic and therefore are not reflective of normal levels of unemployment. For example, between March 2020 and June 2020 people claiming Universal Credit doubled in most areas of the United Kingdom and then steadily declined up to the day of the Census and beyond. This data also contains the proportion of people in part-time work (working between 1-35 hours per week), which maybe an indicator of under employment in Dorchester.

Economic Status	Proportion
In Employment	52.98%
In Part-Time Work	30.73%
Unemployed	3.62%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

69.27% of the people in work, are in full-time employment in Dorchester

How many residents own or rent their home in Dorchester and Dorset

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 census and calculated what proportion of people in Dorchester either own or rent their home. All percentages have been rounded to two decimal places. 62.2 of residents own their home either outright or mortgaged. 37.8 of Dorchester residents rent their home either privately or through a social landlord.

Area	Owned	Rented
Dorchester West	62.2%	37.8%
Dorset	70.4%	29.6%
South West	65.88%	34.12%
England	61.31%	38.69%

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester has a higher level of home ownership than than the national average.

Dorchester compared to other wards in Dorset

#	Ward	Owned	Rented
1	West Parley	90.7%	9.3%
2	St Leonards & St Ives	88.06%	11.94%
3	Colehill & Wimborne Minster East	84.35%	15.65%
4	Verwood	82.46%	17.54%
5	Corfe Mullen	82.39%	17.61%
6	Ferndown North	82.24%	17.76%
7	West Moors & Three Legged Cross	80.75%	19.25%
8	Beacon (Dorset)	79.25%	20.75%
9	Upwey & Broadwey	78.41%	21.59%
10	Ferndown South	76.96%	23.04%
11	Marshwood Vale	76.57%	23.43%
12	Lytchett Matravers & Upton	75.68%	24.32%
13	Stalbridge & Marnhull	74.95%	25.05%
14	Winterborne & Broadmayne	73.99%	26.01%
15	Crossways	73.96%	26.04%
16	Blackmore Vale	73.85%	26.15%
17	Cranborne & Alderholt	73.37%	26.63%
18	Gillingham	72.45%	27.55%
19	Yetminster	72.41%	27.59%
20	Hill Forts & Upper Tarrants	72.4%	27.6%
21	Stour & Allen Vale	72.34%	27.66%
22	Chickerell	72.09%	27.91%
23	Chesil Bank	71.95%	28.05%
24	Chalk Valleys	71.48%	28.52%
25	Charminster St Mary's	71.27%	28.73%
26	Winterborne North	71.22%	28.78%
27	Puddletown & Lower Winterborne	70.97%	29.04%
28	Radipole	70.83%	29.17%
29	Sherborne Rural	70.72%	29.28%
30	Lyme & Charmouth	70.62%	29.38%
31	Wareham	70.5%	29.5%
32	Littlemoor & Preston	70.5%	29.5%
33	Eggardon	70.49%	29.51%
34	Swanage	69.69%	30.31%
35	Beaminster	67.34%	32.67%
36	South East Purbeck	67.08%	32.92%
37	Dorchester East	67.07%	32.93%
38	Rodwell & Wyke	66.9%	33.1%
39	Bridport	66.37%	33.63%
40	Portland (Dorset)	64.94%	35.06%
41	Sturminster Newton	63.96%	36.04%
42	Blandford	63.21%	36.79%
43	Sherborne East	63.01%	36.99%
44	Shaftesbury Town	62.62%	37.38%
45	Dorchester West	62.2%	37.8%
46	West Purbeck	59.72%	40.28%
47	Sherborne West	58.7%	41.3%
48	Wimborne Minster	57.87%	42.13%
49	Westham	57.44%	42.56%
50	Dorchester Poundbury	56.32%	43.68%
51	Cranborne Chase	55.27%	44.73%
52	Melcombe Regis	42.6%	57.4%

Dorchester is ranked 45 out of 52 wards in Dorset for the percentage of home owners.

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Dorchester Age Distribution Statistics

We have taken the raw data from the 2021 Census and the calculated the proportion of age groups in Dorchester West.

Age Band	Proportion
4 & under
5 - 9 years
10 - 15 years
16 - 19 years
20 - 24 years
25 - 34 years
35 - 49 years
50 - 64 years
65 - 74 years
75 - 84 years
85 years & over

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

What is the population of Dorchester and Dorset?

The table below contains the populations figures for each ward in Dorset including Dorchester. These population ONS figures are estimated are dated Mid 2020.

Ward	Population
Dorset Total	0

Source: Census 2021 (Nomis/ONS)

Last updated: 20/02/2024, Additional Sources: Office for National Statistics & Department for Work & Pensions.

Top 20 most depressing towns in Britain 2024