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Dorset Counts / Swanage

Swanage · Dorset

Swanage: your neighbourhood

Swanage electoral ward · May 2026 boundaries. Every figure carries its own date.

What stands out here?

People aged 65 or over: 35.5% here, compared with 29.6% across Dorset (6 percentage points higher).

Age helps locate demand for accessible homes, transport and support. Being older does not itself mean someone needs care.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

People aged 16+ with no qualifications: 17.3% here, compared with 15.8% across Dorset (1.5 percentage points higher).

Formal qualifications are only one part of someone's skills. Training decisions also need current vacancies, employment and residents' experience.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages: 16.6% here, compared with 15.1% across Dorset (1.5 percentage points higher).

These households met at least two census conditions covering education, employment, health and housing. This is not an income or poverty measure.

21 March 2021 · ward and council use the same source, measure and date.

Why this comparison is valid

The difference is in percentage points. The wider figure is the published council total, not the average of its wards. Differences describe groups, not every resident.

Source →
A proposed response →

The ward in numbers

People aged 65 or over

35.5%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All usual residents

3,350 out of 9,426.

Source and method →

People reporting bad or very bad health

6.4%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All usual residents; self-reported, not age-standardised

606 out of 9,426.

Source and method →

People counted in the census

9,426

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All usual residents

9,426 out of 9,426.

Source and method →

People aged 16+ with a degree or equivalent

31.6%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

Residents aged 16 and over

2,606 out of 8,250.

Source and method →

Households facing at least one measured disadvantage

53.5%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

The census checks education, employment, health and housing. This is not a measure of income or poverty.

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All households

2,415 out of 4,511.

Source and method →

Households facing two or more measured disadvantages

16.6%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

The census checks education, employment, health and housing. This is not a measure of income or poverty.

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All households

747 out of 4,511.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ outside the labour market

52.2%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

4,299 out of 8,240.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ in work

45.4%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

3,741 out of 8,240.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ not working because of long-term illness or disability

4%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

331 out of 8,240.

Source and method →

People aged 16+ with no qualifications

17.3%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

Residents aged 16 and over

1,427 out of 8,250.

Source and method →

Homes rented privately

18%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All households

791 out of 4,513.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ retired

39.7%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

3,270 out of 8,240.

Source and method →

Homes rented from a council or housing association

12%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

Published Census 2021 count; percentage uses the matching population denominator

All households

547 out of 4,513.

Source and method →

Residents aged 16+ unemployed

2.4%

21 March 2021 · Swanage

Show the workings

21 March 2021, residents aged 16 and over. Includes full-time students in the corresponding work/unemployment categories. Not a current labour-market estimate or the usual 16–64 employment rate. Census took place during the coronavirus pandemic; furlough and lockdown affected answers. Ward counts sum complete official output-area best-fit membership; privacy adjustment can make totals differ slightly. Unemployed residents as a share of all residents aged 16+; this is not the unemployment rate among economically active people.

All usual residents aged 16 and over

200 out of 8,240.

Source and method →

Crime and safety

Police-recorded locations for Swanage ward. Locations are approximate; these are not all crimes or a measure of personal risk.

366 mapped crimes

September 2025 to August 2026. Compared with 358 in the previous 12 months. Anti-social behaviour is counted separately.

Mapped crime over time

September 2024 to August 2026

Swanage ward · mapped crimes

Reviewed figures: September 2024 to August 2026. This reviewed record covers fewer than 30 years, so the chart opens on all of it.

Shown on this chart: 22 mapped crimes in September 2024; 49 mapped crimes in August 2026. These are recorded counts; check the coverage notes before comparing periods.

The line joins consecutive published observations.

Monthly crime and anti-social behaviour
Recorded locations by month · Swanage
MonthMapped crimeAnti-social behaviour
September 2024224
October 2024355
November 2024335
December 2024245
January 2025204
February 2025252
March 2025328
April 2025347
May 20253212
June 2025315
July 20253114
August 2025398
September 2025264
October 2025286
November 2025214
December 2025268
January 20263011
February 2026144
March 2026297
April 2026212
May 20263411
June 20263719
July 20265119
August 20264916
Crime categories in the latest complete year
September 2025 to August 2026 · Swanage
CategoryMapped crimes
violent crime202
shoplifting37
other theft33
criminal damage arson31
public order18
burglary14
vehicle crime9
drugs8
other crime7
possession of weapons4
theft from the person2
bicycle theft1
What these numbers include

Approximate published locations, not every crime or personal risk.

Anti-social behaviour is separate. Transport police and unusable locations excluded.

An empty ward count means no mapped rows in the complete required force files; it does not prove that no crime occurred.

These are retrieved mapped records, not a guarantee of complete crime reporting. Approximate locations and unmapped incidents limit comparisons.

Missing ward-months invalidate totals and changes. Busy centres attract visitors, so residential population is not a measure of the number of people exposed.

Police data and method →

What could improve local safety →

Projects and proposed responses

A nearby project is not proof of a benefit to the whole ward. Only source-supported ward links are attached here.

No project boundary has been verified against this ward. See projects and their stated locations →

Proposed responses across Dorset →