Renting in Dorchester

Average Rent in Dorchester: £1,200/mo

Rent in Dorchester before the rush.

Median asking rent across 705 live Dorchester listings on 4 portals from £450/mo, broken down by property size below — plus how rents have moved, where they are highest and lowest, and what landed on the market this week.

Median asking rent

£1,200 /month

705 live listings · 4 portals

Median monthly rent in Dorchester by property size
Size	Median rent	Listings
Studio	£850/mo	21
1 bed	£950/mo	226
2 bed	£1,200/mo	312
3 bed	£1,400/mo	103
4+ bed	£2,050/mo	43

Asking rents from live listings on Rightmove, OnTheMarket, OpenRent, PrimeLocation, SpareRoom and Leaders · Updated 13 September 2026. Weekly prices normalised to monthly.

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Renting in Dorchester

What it costs to rent in Dorchester

Dorchester currently has 705 rental properties listed across the portals we track, with a median rent of £1,200 a month. 16 new homes appeared in the past week alone. Among the houses and flats listed, roughly 34% are houses and the rest are flats.

Rents vary sharply by postcode. The most affordable outcode we track is PO7 at around £825/mo, while BN3 sits nearer £1,675/mo. For a wider view of where the UK’s cheapest rents are, see our guide to the cheapest cities to rent in the UK.

Dwellio watches Rightmove, OnTheMarket, OpenRent, PrimeLocation, SpareRoom and Leaders for Dorchester around the clock — so a new listing reaches your inbox before most renters have refreshed the app. Here’s how our rental alerts work. Looking further afield? You can browse rentals in every UK city.

Rent by property size

Average rent in Dorchester by bedrooms

Median monthly asking rent for each property size, from 705 live listings across 4 property sites (September 2026).

Average studio rent in Dorchester

£850/mo

The median asking rent for a studio in Dorchester is £850 a month, 29% below the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 21 studios currently on the market.

Average rent for a 1-bed flat in Dorchester

£950/mo

The median asking rent for a 1-bed home in Dorchester is £950 a month, 21% below the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 226 listings currently on the market.

Average rent for a 2-bed flat or house in Dorchester

£1,200/mo

The median asking rent for a 2-bed home in Dorchester is £1,200 a month, in line with the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 312 listings currently on the market.

Average rent for a 3-bed house in Dorchester

£1,400/mo

The median asking rent for a 3-bed home in Dorchester is £1,400 a month, 17% above the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 103 listings currently on the market.

Average rent for a 4-bed house in Dorchester

£2,050/mo

The median asking rent for a four-bedroom-plus home in Dorchester is £2,050 a month, 71% above the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 43 listings currently on the market.

Medians exclude prices that fail our junk-listing floor. Room rents are per room, not per property.

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Rent trend · ONS PIPR

How Dorset rents have moved

Office for National Statistics Price Index of Private Rents — official monthly average rent across all tenures in Dorset, the ONS area that covers Dorchester. Latest: £1,051/mo (Jul 26, +4.8% YoY).

Latest

£1,051

Jul 26

Annual

+4.8%

vs last year

5-yr ago

£830

Aug 21

Total change

+27%

since 2021

Source: Office for National Statistics · Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR). Updated monthly with a ~2-month lag. ONS uses Broad Rental Market Areas in Scotland — figures may aggregate beyond the city itself.

Property types

What’s on offer in Dorchester

Flats & apartments

402

65% of listings

Houses

210

34% of listings

Bungalows

1% of listings

Property mix · houses

Houses to rent in Dorchester — what's on the market

Other house houses make up 65% of the 218 houses currently advertised in Dorchester.

Other house
65%142
Terraced
26%56
Semi-detached
4%9
Bungalow
4%8
Detached
1%3

Rent by postcode

Where Dorchester rent is highest and lowest

Median monthly rent grouped by outcode across 608 live listings in 13 outcodes. Outcodes with fewer than 3 listings are skipped to avoid skew from a single luxury rental.

Most expensive in Dorchester

1BN3£1,675/mo7 rentals
2RH12£1,625/mo3 rentals
3BN1£1,550/mo3 rentals

Cheapest in Dorchester

1PO7£825/mo3 rentals
2DE56£850/mo3 rentals
3PE9£863/mo4 rentals

Features · Dorchester

Garden, parking, and floor area in Dorchester

Live signal across 705 Dorchester rentals scraped from six UK portals. Coverage varies by portal — figures below show the share of listings whose advertiser surfaces the feature.

Garden

61%

of 113 Dorchester listings advertise a garden, patio, or terrace.

Parking

81%

of 137 Dorchester listings include parking, a driveway, or a garage.

Live from the portals

New rentals in Dorchester this week

16 homes came onto the Dorchester rental market in the last 7 days across Rightmove, OnTheMarket, OpenRent, PrimeLocation, SpareRoom and Leaders. The freshest are below.

16 new this weekUpdated today

Listings refresh as our scraper picks up new properties for Dorchester. Click through to the source portal to enquire.

How it works

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Council tax · VOA 2024

Council tax bands across Dorchester

Most Dorchester homes sit in Band C. The weighted average works out close to Band C–D across 185,720 properties on the council-tax list.

Modal band

most common band

Mean band

3.57

≈ Band C–D

Stock

186k

185,720 properties

A
11%20,730
B
17%31,700
C
23%42,920
D
20%36,970
E
15%28,510
F
9%16,030
G
4%8,140
H
0%740

Source: HM Valuation Office Agency — Council Tax Stock of Properties (CTSOP1.0), extract dated 31 March 2024. Covers England and Wales; Scotland and Northern Ireland use separate band schemes and aren't included.

Broadband · Ofcom Connected Nations

Broadband coverage across Dorchester

71% of Dorchester premises can already get full-fibre and 72% can get gigabit speeds — Ofcom Connected Nations residential coverage, July 2025.

Full fibre

71%

FTTP-ready premises

Gigabit

72%

≥1Gbit/s available

Superfast

98%

≥30Mbit/s available

Mean speed

404 Mbit/s

bucket-weighted estimate

Full fibre (FTTP)
71%
Gigabit-capable
72%
Superfast (≥30 Mbit/s)
98%

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations residential coverage by Local Authority (Dorset), July 2025, covering 182,989 premises. Mean download speed is estimated from Ofcom speed-bucket midpoints.

Energy efficiency · DESNZ EPC

EPC ratings for Dorchester homes

45% of Dorchester homes hold a current EPC in bands A–C — the bands that meet the proposed 2030 minimum energy-efficiency standard for rented stock.

Bands A–C

45%

good energy-efficiency stock

Bands D–G

55%

below the proposed 2030 floor

Certificates

144k

144,058 EPCs

A
1%968
B
13%18,012
C
31%45,155
D
35%51,095
E
14%20,852
F
4%6,127
G
1%1,849

Source: DESNZ Energy Performance of Buildings register (replacement for opendatacommunities.org), domestic certificates filed under Dorset. Covers England and Wales — Scottish EPCs are held in a separate Scottish register and aren't included.

Schools · GIAS · DfE

State-funded schools near Dorchester

5 open state-funded schools sit within one mile of the Dorchester centroid. The five closest:

1
St Mary's Catholic First School, Dorchester
Primary · Academy converter · DT1 2DD
0.61 mi
2
Dorchester Middle School
Middle deemed secondary · Academy converter · DT1 2HS
0.66 mi
3
St Osmund's Church of England Middle School
Middle deemed secondary · Academy converter · DT1 2DZ
0.72 mi
4
The Thomas Hardye School
Secondary · Academy converter · DT1 2ET
0.84 mi
5
Manor Park Church of England First School
Primary · Academy sponsor led · DT1 2BH
0.86 mi

Source: DfE Get Information About Schools (state-funded extract). Distances are straight-line from each school's postcode to the Dorchester centroid. Ofsted ratings were removed from GIAS in January 2025 and aren't available here.

Area safety

Safety in Dorchester

Lower Crime Area

Based on the latest police data (September 2026), Dorchester has a lower crime rate compared to other UK cities. Across 25 of 25 postcode districts analysed, the median was 47 reported crimes per area. The most common category in Dorchester is Anti-social behaviour, accounting for 0% of all incidents.

Crime overview

47 crimes per area (median)
25 of 25 postcode districts covered
Data: September 2026

Most reported

Anti-social behaviour
0% of incidents

Dorchester ranks well for renters concerned about neighbourhood safety. Every Dwellio alert includes the area’s crime data so you can compare at a glance.

Data from data.police.uk, updated monthly. Contains public-sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.

Area breakdown

Safety by suburb in Dorchester

Street-level crime counts from data.police.uk for July 2026, covering a ~1 mile radius around each suburb centre. Figures are normalised per 1,000 residents so you can compare neighbourhoods fairly.

Broadmayne has the lowest crime count of the top 5 suburbs in Dorchester.

Poundbury
Typical for city
Most common: Violent crime (25) · pop. ~4,500
15
per 1k
Charminster
Higher crime
Most common: Violent crime (19) · pop. ~2,000
20
per 1k
Fordington
Higher crime
Most common: Violent crime (40) · pop. ~3,000
33
per 1k
Stratton
Safer area
Most common: Violent crime (2) · pop. ~1,000
3.0
per 1k
Broadmayne
Safer area
Most common: Violent crime (2) · pop. ~1,500
2.7
per 1k

Suburbs shown are representative populated areas; figures reflect street-level incidents within ~1 mile of each centre. Data from data.police.uk. Contains public-sector information licensed under OGL v3.0.

Where we search

Dorchester listings by portal

We watch 4 property sites for rentals in Dorchester.

Leaders

300

Rightmove

149

OnTheMarket

140

OpenRent

116

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Frequently asked

Renting in Dorchester — your questions answered

How much is rent in Dorchester?

The average (median) asking rent in Dorchester is £1,200 a month — a 1-bed is £950 and a 2-bed £1,200, based on 705 live listings across 4 property portals in Sept 2026.

What is the average studio rent in Dorchester?

The median asking rent for a studio in Dorchester is £850 a month, 29% below the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 21 studios currently on the market.

What is the average rent for a 1-bed flat in Dorchester?

The median asking rent for a 1-bed home in Dorchester is £950 a month, 21% below the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 226 listings currently on the market.

What is the average rent for a 2-bed flat or house in Dorchester?

The median asking rent for a 2-bed home in Dorchester is £1,200 a month, in line with the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 312 listings currently on the market.

What is the average rent for a 3-bed house in Dorchester?

The median asking rent for a 3-bed home in Dorchester is £1,400 a month, 17% above the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 103 listings currently on the market.

What is the average rent for a 4-bed house in Dorchester?

The median asking rent for a four-bedroom-plus home in Dorchester is £2,050 a month, 71% above the city-wide median of £1,200, based on 43 listings currently on the market.

How many rental properties are available in Dorchester?

There are currently 705 rental properties available in Dorchester, with 16 new listings added in the last 7 days.

Is Dorchester safe for renters?

Dorchester has a lower crime rate compared to other UK cities, with a median of 47 reported crimes per postcode area (September 2026). The most common category is Anti-social behaviour. Data from data.police.uk.

What is the most common crime in Dorchester?

The most commonly reported crime category in Dorchester is Anti-social behaviour, based on data.police.uk records for September 2026.

Across South West

Average rent across South West

How Dorchester compares with the other 17 places we track in South West — median asking rent from live listings, updated September 2026.

Every city, every region, one table: the UK rental index.

Compare across the UK

Average rent in major UK cities

See how Dorchester compares with the UK’s largest rental markets — median rents, area data and live alerts for each.

Renting guides

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Guides on covering every portal and reaching new Dorchester listings first.

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