Dorset

At a glance, population and employment estimates for Dorset.

Population: 379,791
People in Employment: 155,780 (74.3%)
People Inactive: 47,220 (22.5%)
People Unemployed: 6,630 (3.2%)
Number Of Jobs: 127k
Median Salary: £26,446
Mean Salary: £30,561

Crime Statistics

You can view the number of crimes per crime type for this year and the previous. You can also see the trend for each crime type, which shows if crimes committed are getting better, worse or no change.

We also list all of the parliamentary wards for Dorset. You'll be able to see the crimes for this year so far and also how many crimes per 1000 people.

If you need to see crimes on a street level, you can use the interactive crime map which shows you crimes and their outcome.

Crime rate by type in Dorset for 2024

Dorsets most common type of crime is: Violence and sexual offences. In 2023 there were 8,641 crimes and in 2022 there were 9,092 crimes. Which is an decrease of 451 crimes.

Crime Type	Previous Year	Crimes This Year	Trend vs previous year
Violence and sexual offences	8,641	719	Getting Better
Anti-social behaviour	6,464	542	Getting Better
Criminal damage and arson	2,399	169	Getting Better
Other theft	1,794	132	Getting Better
Public order	1,561	125	Getting Better
Shoplifting	1,225	117	Getting Better
Vehicle crime	963	82	Getting Better
Burglary	1,056	78	Getting Better
Drugs	333	28	Getting Better
Bicycle theft	132	16	Getting Better
Possession of weapons	118	11	Getting Better
Other crime	228	9	Getting Better
Robbery	111	5	Getting Better
Theft from the person	93	4	Getting Better

Number of crimes for Electoral Wards in Dorset

Think of Electoral Wards as the boundaries your local councillors represent in your area. Electoral Wards will help you get a better picture of how much crime takes place in and around the places you live.

Melcombe Regis has the highest crime rate of all the wards in Dorset, with 2262 crimes and 533 crimes per 1000 people. Whilst Chalk Valleys has 81 crimes and 17 crimes per 1000 people.

Name	Crimes in 2024	Crimes per 1000 people
Melcombe Regis	169	40
Portland	112	8
Dorchester West	111	12
Bridport	99	7
Rodwell & Wyke	94	7
Littlemoor & Preston	89	9
Westham	87	9
Swanage	74	8
Wimborne Minster	67	9
Chickerell	66	9
Blandford	60	6
West Purbeck	59	6
Wareham	56	5
Radipole	52	5
Gillingham	49	3
Shaftesbury Town	44	5
Ferndown North	43	5
Lytchett Matravers & Upton	41	3
Verwood	40	3
St Leonards & St Ives	39	5
Colehill & Wimborne Minster East	37	4
Lyme & Charmouth	37	7
Corfe Mullen	30	3
Dorchester East	30	4
Winterborne North	28	7
Crossways	27	7
West Moors & Three Legged Cross	26	3
Ferndown South	24	3
Stour & Allen Vale	23	4
Upwey & Broadwey	23	5
Yetminster	23	5
Sherborne West	20	4
Eggardon	19	4
Sherborne Rural	19	4
Beaminster	17	4
Charminster St Mary's	17	3
Cranborne & Alderholt	17	3
Cranborne Chase	17	3
Sherborne East	16	3
South East Purbeck	16	4
Stalbridge & Marnhull	16	3
Blackmore Vale	12	3
Puddletown & Lower Winterborne	12	2
Hill Forts & Upper Tarrants	12	3
Chesil Bank	11	3
West Parley	11	3
Sturminster Newton	8	2
Marshwood Vale	7	2
Chalk Valleys	6	1
Winterborne & Broadmayne	5	1
Beacon	0	0
Dorchester Poundbury	0	0

Crime map for Dorset

Showing crimes from the beginning of the year up until 2024-07. Each Marker on the map represents a crime. Click on the marker to find out more about the crime. Please note, all crime locations are approximate.

Housing Statistics

View average house prices by year. We show property prices from 2010 up until the current year. You can also see property prices over time using our interactive chart.

Average property prices by year for Dorset

The average property price in Dorset is higher than the £290,000 UK average. This could indicate a property shortage in the area pushing prices up or that the average household income in Dorset is higher than average. Building and selling properties in Dorset could be more profitable.

Year	Avg. Detached Price	Avg. Semi-Detached Price	Avg. Terraced Price	Avg. Flat Price
2023	£546,520.53	£358,394.07	£285,294.99	£193,501.52
2022	£536,169.23	£350,967.31	£281,350.31	£191,363.17
2021	£470,350.10	£307,860.05	£248,480.27	£175,015.75
2020	£429,508.97	£283,526.71	£228,696.53	£166,276.18
2019	£420,388.32	£276,484.32	£222,675.06	£166,187.04
2018	£425,277.03	£274,156.56	£220,910.73	£169,101.49
2017	£412,890.21	£266,092.13	£215,493.42	£168,443.25
2016	£390,263.70	£251,592.50	£205,150.35	£157,620.94
2015	£365,870.71	£238,257.97	£194,973.75	£148,887.75
2014	£347,678.28	£228,270.31	£187,681.20	£143,735.85
2013	£327,273.66	£214,952.95	£177,265.43	£136,568.41
2012	£320,540.81	£211,522.07	£175,320.64	£136,179.47
2011	£316,983.94	£208,360.18	£173,095.92	£136,544.38
2010	£320,199.94	£211,923.56	£176,921.74	£140,132.60

Property prices over time for Dorset

Showing crimes from 2010 up until July 2024. You can use the interactive chart to zoom in on a timeframe to see greater detail.

Employment and Annual Salary information for Dorset

The median salary in Dorset is £26,446 and the mean salary in Dorset is £30,561.00. The median value is a better indicator of salary in a region since the mean salary can be skewed by a small number of people that are high earners.

Number of Jobs (thousands): 127k
Median Salary: £26,446
Annual Percentage Change: 7.6%
Mean Salary: £30,561

Salary comparison between Dorset and South West

See how Dorset compares to the rest of South West. Jobs per thousand, median and mean salary as well as annual percentage vs last year.

The highest median salary in South West is £34,961 in Cheltenham and the lowest median salary is £0 in Isles of Scilly. Dorset ranks 11 out of 26 in terms of median salary.

Location	Jobs (thousands)	Median Salary	Annual Percentage Change	Mean Salary	Annual Percentage Change
Cheltenham	41k	£34,961	14.8%	£38,610	11.2%
Forest of Dean	24k	£30,120	27.8%	£32,813	11.4%
Bristol, City of UA	173k	£29,923	11.1%	£32,238	5.8%
North Somerset UA	74k	£29,026	16.3%	£32,491	11.3%
South Gloucestershire UA	113k	£28,830	10.8%	£31,817	8.6%
Swindon UA	89k	£28,164	3.4%	£34,161	6.8%
Wiltshire UA	177k	£28,033	12.8%	£32,009	5.2%
Bath and North East Somerset UA	71k	£27,614	14.1%	£35,345	19.5%
Stroud	42k	£27,606	9.7%	£32,948	8.7%
Cotswold	28k	£26,953	22.1%	£34,455	16.1%
Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole UA	131k	£26,714	9.8%	£31,862	10.7%
South Hams	26k	£26,370	9.6%	£28,265	-2.6%
Gloucester	43k	£25,766	8.9%	£30,531	14.4%
Exeter	48k	£25,553	9.5%	£29,292	9.6%
Mid Devon	29k	£25,048	0.0%	£27,831	0.0%
North Devon	36k	£25,035	17.3%	£25,340	9.5%
Cornwall UA	169k	£24,510	14.9%	£27,014	13.0%
Plymouth UA	91k	£23,433	6.2%	£25,656	8.1%
Teignbridge	39k	£23,283	8.3%	£27,325	8.9%
Torbay UA	46k	£22,678	-2.6%	£25,355	1.9%
Torridge	25k	£22,300	0.0%	£24,572	4.8%
West Devon	17k	£21,639	10.7%	£23,139	1.3%
Tewkesbury	31k	£0	0.0%	£0	0.0%
East Devon	44k	£0	0.0%	£31,403	11.8%
Isles of Scilly	0k	£0	0.0%	£0	0.0%