Quarrying in the area helped expand the population, but it was the sinking of the Dinnington Main Colliery in 1905 that led to the real growth of the settlement.

[5] Dinnington continued to expand throughout the 20th century, largely through the growth of commuter living that followed the Second World War.

As the housing estates spread, Dinnington began to merge seamlessly into the neighbouring settlements of Throapham and North Anston.

The result is a 2.2 miles (3.5 km) strip of urban development that mainly acts as a commuter base for Sheffield, Rotherham and Worksop, although with the closure of coal mines and steel mills, the area saw a rapid decline in the late 1980s and early 1990s and despite steady growth, still boasted the highest level of unemployment in the UK in 2001.

[7] In 2023 Councillor Charlie Wooding was removed from his position after it was revealed that he had failed to attend council meeting while continuing to claim his wages, causing outrage in the town,[8] a by-election was triggered and local resident Julia Hall was elected to take his place [9] In 1995, Dinnington was featured in an episode of the BBC1 TV documentary series Everyman, entitled Simon's Cross.

In 2003, Dinnington was declared a town as part of an attempt to attract more investment and improve the local economy.

The Welfare buildings and sports fields were provided originally for the miners at the local colliery by CISWO in 1926.

Opened next to Dinnington Market in the late 1990s, replacing on-street bus stops on the congested Laughton Road, the Interchange consists of three bus stands with a covered indoor waiting area, toilets and a staffed ticket office at peak times.