Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0More one-person households than 99% of UK towns: 45%
Across Scotland’s towns, 18% of households live in a detached house; in Aberdeen, 9.5%. At the 2022 Census, 192,968 people lived in the city, in 95,725 households. 46% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. The median age locally is 38.1, lower than in 89% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Aberdeen’s people
A student city
The 2022 Census counted 24,519 full-time students aged 16 and over, 15% of adults, against 9.4% across Scotland’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 15% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Aberdeen City
22% of residents were born outside the UK, against 21% across Aberdeen City’s towns and 11% across Scotland’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (10%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5.6%). Where people were born ↓
A city of flats
54% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 33% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
A mix of backgrounds
26% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2022 Census, more than in 90% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (12%), African (4.2%) and Indian (2.3%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
More residents aged 15 to 24 than 97% of UK towns: 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 17%, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Aberdeen, 38.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Aberdeen ranks above 98% of UK towns on full-time students: 15%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Leave the students aside and Aberdeen’s other adults look much like Scotland’s: 38% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 36%. As a reference point, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
20% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 94% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Aberdeen City’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
A household here has 1.9 people on average; across Scotland’s towns, 2.1. Aberdeen has more shared households of unrelated adults than 95% of UK towns, at 4.7%. The wider picture: nearly a quarter of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns.
Households in flats make up 54% in Aberdeen, more than in 99% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2022. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
By its share of households in terraced houses (16%), Aberdeen is below 69% of UK towns. As a reference point, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns. In Aberdeen, 33% of households have no car or van.
In Aberdeen, 22% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 95% of UK towns
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2022.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 30%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 94%; Aberdeen has 88%. Residents born outside the UK: 11% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (10%) and in the Middle East and Asia (5.6%).
A larger share of residents with no religion than 99% of UK towns: 58%
How residents described themselves at the 2022 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 74% of Aberdeen · Aberdeen City’s towns 75% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (12%), African (4.2%) and Indian (2.3%). Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 31%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Elsewhere, just over half of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 86%; Aberdeen has 74%.
Only 38% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Aberdeen
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 3 and over), Census 2022.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 3 and over
Students and young renters account for much of that. The census found that 8.6% of residents give unpaid care in Aberdeen. 46% of the city’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 38% are married, against 40% and 42% across Scotland’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: 38% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 38% of adults in Aberdeen, 32% across Scotland’s towns; 13% have no qualification, against 17%. A levels top the qualifications of 12%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
19th highest median age among 43 UK towns of 135,000 to 261,000
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Cambridge is the youngest (31.9); Poole the oldest (44.6). Nearest to Aberdeen in age: Harrow (38.1), Swindon (38.1), Stoke-on-Trent (38.4) and Kingston upon Thames (38.6).
The towns around Aberdeen are all older
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdeen | 192,968 | — | 38.1 | 17% | 20% |
| Kingswells | 4,776 | 3.5 mi | 43 | 15% | 34% |
| Cove Bay | 7,926 | 3.8 mi | 40.6 | 15% | 27% |
| Dyce | 6,998 | 4.1 mi | 41.9 | 22% | 25% |
| Milltimber | 3,049 | 4.9 mi | 45.1 | 23% | 36% |
| Portlethen | 8,965 | 6.2 mi | 40.3 | 14% | 34% |
| Westhill | 11,778 | 6.3 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 30% |
| Peterculter | 4,359 | 6.4 mi | 46.9 | 24% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in term time. 20 March 2022 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Aberdeen City’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Aberdeen City (or Scotland), summed the same way as Aberdeen’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- Small counts are blurred. National Records of Scotland adjusts small Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Aberdeen’s residents
What is the population of Aberdeen?
The 2022 Census counted 192,968 people in Aberdeen’s locality.
What is the average age in Aberdeen?
The median age was 38.1 at the 2022 Census, younger than 89% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Aberdeen a student city?
Yes: 15% of adults were full-time students at the 2022 Census (24,519 people), against 9.4% across Scotland’s towns.
How diverse is Aberdeen?
74% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 75% across Aberdeen City’s towns. 22% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aberdeen?
58% said they had no religion and 31% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 3.1% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Aberdeen good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Aberdeen’s schools page.
Sources: Scotland’s Census 2022 (National Records of Scotland), output areas summed to the NRS 2022 locality (UV101b, UV103, UV104, UV113, UV201, UV204b, UV205, UV212, UV301, UV402, UV405, UV406, UV501, UV607, UV801). Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.