Photo: Russ Hamer · CC BY-SA 3.0One-person households make up 41% in Forfar, more than in 99% of UK towns
Where 24% of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns, Forfar has 22%. At the 2022 Census, 13,774 people lived in the town, in 6,818 households. Locally, 56% of residents said they have no religion. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 86% of UK towns.
A median age of 48: Forfar is older than 74% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 7.5% of residents. Just over a quarter of residents are 65 or over, a higher share than in 76% of UK towns. Residents aged 15 to 24: 10%, above 61% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Forfar, 48. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Forfar: 5.3% of adults are full-time students, above 70% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Managerial and professional jobs account for 26% of Forfar’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 32%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Set beside that, 9.4% of 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.
Smaller households than 98% of UK towns: 2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Angus’ towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 1.3% in Forfar and 3.5% across Scotland’s towns.
A town of flats: 28% of households live in one
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 Forfar, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house, beside 19% across Scotland’s towns. Typically, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns. Households in detached houses: 25% of the total.
5.1% born outside the UK, fewer than in 63% 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
Set against 94% across Scotland’s towns, 97% of residents have English as their main language in Forfar. Against that, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (3.2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
A higher White British share than 70% of UK towns: 94% of residents
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: 94% of Forfar · Angus’ towns 94% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns, against 38% in Forfar. As a yardstick, 86% of residents describe themselves as White British across Scotland’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.8%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Pakistani (0.4%).
Married adults and civil partners: 44%, a lower share than 77% 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
On unpaid carers, 12% here is much the same as across Scotland’s towns. Across the comparison, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Census figures put adults who have never married at 34% in Forfar.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 23%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 17% of adults have no qualification; in Forfar, 21%, while 23% hold one at degree level (32%).
Among 361 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people, the 72nd oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Forfar in age: Otley (48), Saltash (48), Huntington (48.2) and Baildon (48.2).
3 of the 5 nearest towns are older than Forfar
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forfar | 13,774 | — | 48 | 26% | 22% |
| Kirriemuir | 6,000 | 5 mi | 50.2 | 27% | 21% |
| Brechin | 7,180 | 10.7 mi | 45.5 | 24% | 22% |
| Monifieth | 9,356 | 11.2 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 26% |
| Carnoustie | 11,373 | 11.6 mi | 48.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Dundee | 147,365 | 11.9 mi | 38.4 | 18% | 22% |
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.
- “Angus’ towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Angus (or Scotland), summed the same way as Forfar’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 Forfar’s residents
What is the population of Forfar?
The 2022 Census counted 13,774 people in Forfar’s locality.
What is the average age in Forfar?
The median age was 48 at the 2022 Census, older than 74% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Forfar?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 94% across Angus’ towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Forfar?
56% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is Forfar good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Forfar’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.