Dorset: local statistics
Dorset is a unitary authority in the South West, home to an estimated 391,036 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Dorset, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in Dorset is £2,765.02, up £134.72 on 2025-26. That makes it the highest of all 27 council areas in the South West. Ten years earlier, in 2019-20, it was £2,037.59.
The ONS estimates that 391,036 people lived in Dorset in mid-2025, up 0.4% on mid-2024. That is 20,308 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 5.5%, against +8.0% for the South West as a whole. That is 22nd of 27 in the South West, counting from the fastest growth. The mid-2025 estimate is the highest in the series.
Life expectancy at birth in Dorset is 84.8 years for women and 81.1 years for men (2022 to 2024), compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. In 2012 to 2014 the figures were 84.8 and 81.2. It is the 6th highest for women of 26 in the South West.
The ONS counted 20,570 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in Dorset in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. There are 53 per 1,000 residents, the 9th highest of all 27 council areas in the South West.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in Dorset at £325,154 for July 2026, down 0.1% on July 2025. It ranks as the 10th highest of all 26 council areas in the South West; the average for the South West was £302,298. The July peak was £339,496 in 2022, and prices are 28% above July 2016. The average price is 8.7 times the median annual pay of full-time employees who live in Dorset. That ratio is the 7th highest ratio of 26 in the South West.
Police recorded 19,580 crimes in Dorset in the year to March 2026, 50.1 for every 1,000 residents, 13th of 19 in the South West, counting from the highest rate. The rate was 55.5 in the year to March 2025. Across the 11 years shown it ranged from 46.3 to 62.3 per 1,000. Fraud is not included.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 80.1% of Dorset residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 3.3 points either way; the figure for the South West was 79.0%. Over the 11 years shown it ranged from 74.5% to 80.1%.
The claimant count for Dorset stood at 4,900 in August 2026, or 2.3% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 2.7% in the South West. That compares with 2.2% a year before. The five-year high was 3.2% (August 2021); the low was 2.1% (October 2023).
Median weekly pay for full-time employees who live in Dorset was £737.10 in April 2025 (£37,462 a year). It is mid-table in the South West, 14th of 26, and 0.4% more than across the South West. Jobs based in Dorset paid a median £708.70 a week, £28.40 less than the figure for people who live there. In 2015 the residents' median was £508.20, so it has risen 45% before inflation.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 370,728 |
| 2016 | 372,416 |
| 2017 | 374,675 |
| 2018 | 375,604 |
| 2019 | 377,699 |
| 2020 | 377,670 |
| 2021 | 381,245 |
| 2022 | 383,191 |
| 2023 | 385,934 |
| 2024 | 389,341 |
| 2025 | 391,036 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £253,745 |
| July 2017 | £269,708 |
| July 2018 | £276,886 |
| July 2019 | £273,169 |
| July 2020 | £276,977 |
| July 2021 | £294,727 |
| July 2022 | £339,496 |
| July 2023 | £334,351 |
| July 2024 | £330,213 |
| July 2025 | £325,443 |
| July 2026 | £325,154 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £508.20 a week |
| 2016 | £498.30 a week |
| 2017 | £520.40 a week |
| 2018 | £540.90 a week |
| 2019 | £545.20 a week |
| 2020 | £555.70 a week |
| 2021 | £580.30 a week |
| 2022 | £609.00 a week |
| 2023 | £667.70 a week |
| 2024 | £692.80 a week |
| 2025 | £737.10 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2019-20 | £2,037.59 |
| 2020-21 | £2,118.86 |
| 2021-22 | £2,223.01 |
| 2022-23 | £2,290.20 |
| 2023-24 | £2,387.81 |
| 2024-25 | £2,503.63 |
| 2025-26 | £2,630.30 |
| 2026-27 | £2,765.02 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 46.3 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 51.1 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 57.0 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 62.3 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 59.1 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 51.5 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 55.4 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 56.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 55.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 55.5 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 50.1 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 77.4% |
| 2016/17 | 76.9% |
| 2017/18 | 77.2% |
| 2018/19 | 78.8% |
| 2019/20 | 76.2% |
| 2020/21 | 77.2% |
| 2021/22 | 74.5% |
| 2022/23 | 78.2% |
| 2023/24 | 79.6% |
| 2024/25 | 75.9% |
| 2025/26 | 80.1% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.8 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.6 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.6 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 84.5 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 84.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.0 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 85.1 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.9 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.8 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.8 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 19,720 |
| 2017 | 19,920 |
| 2018 | 19,995 |
| 2019 | 20,185 |
| 2020 | 20,215 |
| 2021 | 20,290 |
| 2022 | 20,600 |
| 2023 | 20,430 |
| 2024 | 20,565 |
| 2025 | 20,515 |
| 2026 | 20,570 |
Questions about Dorset
How much is Band D council tax in Dorset?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,765.02 for 2026-27.
What is the population of Dorset?
The ONS estimates 391,036 people lived in Dorset in mid-2025.
What is life expectancy in Dorset?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 81.1 years for men and 84.8 for women.
What is the average house price in Dorset?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £325,154.
What is the crime rate in Dorset?
Home Office figures show 19,580 offences in the year to March 2026, or 50.1 per 1,000 people, not counting fraud.
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Dorset?
The ONS claimant count was 4,900 in August 2026, 2.3% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average salary in Dorset?
£737.10 a week before tax, the median for full-time employees who live there (April 2025, ONS).
Who has power over Dorset
Every body that makes decisions for Dorset, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Dorset council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Dorset in official figures this page
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Christchurch: Sir Christopher Chope (Conservative) MP
- Mid Dorset and North Poole: Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat) MP
- North Dorset: Simon Hoare (Conservative) MP
- South Dorset: Lloyd Hatton (Labour) MP
- West Dorset: Edward Morello (Liberal Democrat) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the South West
- UK figures: UK population · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK average house price
- Other council areas in the South West: Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole · Bristol, City of · Plymouth · South Gloucestershire · Swindon · Wiltshire
Related questions
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- What is the population of my area?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.