Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of residents with no religion than 99% of UK towns: 62%
Against a figure of 38% across Scotland’s towns, the share of one-person households in Macduff comes in at 40%. Compared with other places, shared households of unrelated adults are scarce here: 1.2%, fewer than in 98% of UK towns. The town is home to 3,794 residents in 1,801 households, by the 2022 Census. Here, just over a fifth of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Macduff’s people
More with no religion than most
62% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 31% Christian, against 51% and 39% across Scotland’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
A median age of 45.9: Macduff is older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 8.7% of residents. Few places have as many residents aged 15 to 24: 11% here, more than in 87% of UK towns. In Aboyne, the oldest of Aberdeenshire’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Macduff, 45.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.7% of adults are full-time students in Macduff
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
In Macduff, just over a fifth of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 37% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, full-time students come to 9.4%.
Smaller households than 86% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Aberdeenshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Families with dependent children are nearly a quarter of households (Scotland’s towns 24%), and 16% are someone 66 or over living alone (Aberdeenshire’s towns 15%).
Macduff: 14% of households live in a flat or apartment, above 67% 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
In Macduff, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house, beside 19% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns. Across Macduff, 29% of households live in a detached house.
Residents whose main language is English: 96%, a lower share than 73% 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 15%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (4.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). 6.2% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 52% of UK towns. The share of residents whose main language is English across Scotland’s towns is 94%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 31%, a lower share than 99% of UK towns
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: 93% of Macduff · Aberdeenshire’s towns 91% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.9%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Chinese (0.2%). More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 54% of UK towns: 93%. Elsewhere, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns.
47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, below 58% of UK towns
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
By its share of adults who have never married (33%), Macduff is above 54% of UK towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 9.6%, more than in 57% of UK towns. The wider picture: just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. For 92 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Qualified to degree level: 17% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 17% of adults in Macduff (Scotland’s towns: 32%), and no qualification by 20% (Scotland’s towns: 17%).
237th youngest of 531 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Milford on Sea the oldest (64.6). Nearest to Macduff in age: St Agnes (45.9), Talbot Green (45.9), Middleton St George (46) and Middleton Cheney (46).
The towns around Macduff are all older
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Aberdeenshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Aberdeenshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Macduff’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 Macduff’s residents
What is the population of Macduff?
The 2022 Census counted 3,794 people in Macduff’s locality.
What is the average age in Macduff?
The median age was 45.9 at the 2022 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Macduff?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 91% across Aberdeenshire’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Macduff?
62% said they had no religion and 31% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Macduff good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Macduff’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.