Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, home to 4,427 people.
Fewer journeys need a car (A): 29% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. School results trail most towns: school leavers’ results beat 3% of Scottish towns. Residents’ health trails most towns: life expectancy is 75.4 for men and 79.3 for women. The median home sold for £73,900, 1.7 times what households in the Argyll and Bute council area earn in a year. It lags on hazard risk as well — 12% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea.
Figures: commuting, Census 2022 · life expectancy and incomes, ONS · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · flood risk, SEPA. Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, so Campbeltown has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Scotland), ordered by how far Campbeltown is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, so Campbeltown has no Safety Grade and, without it, no overall grade. Its other subjects still get grades, below.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The 3 things Campbeltown does most differently from other towns.
Historic Environment Scotland lists 141 buildings inside Campbeltown’s locality, 5 of them in the top category, and 2 scheduled monuments.
Explore the history →141 listed buildings in Campbeltown, 5 of them in the top category.
Main Street, Town Hall, Including Lamp Standards: Photo: Johnny Durnan · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Glebe Street and Well Close, Springbank Distillery: Photo: Lirazelf · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Argyll Street, St Kiaran's Episcopal Church, Including Boundary Wall, Gates and Gatepiers: Photo: Tim Glover · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Kinloch Public Park, To South of Swimming Baths, Statue of William Mackinnon: Photo: Lirazelf · CC BY-SA 4.0
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Campbeltown.
Between them, two primaries and one secondary teach 753 pupils in Campbeltown. Of its 3 schools, two are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Castlehill Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 186 | – |
| Campbeltown Grammar SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 390 | D |
Scotland’s Census was taken on 20 March 2022, a year after England and Wales’s lockdown census; 26% of workers were mainly at home, and shares here are of those who travelled.
Working mainly from home: just over a quarter of workers, lower than both Argyll and Bute’s towns (29%) and Scotland’s towns (31%). Three quarters of commuters who live in Campbeltown also work there. For every resident in work, Campbeltown has 0.9 jobs.
Scotland’s Census 2022 (NRS), method of travel and distance to work · DWP claimant count · OGL
At the census, 28% of people here had a disability, above Argyll and Bute’s towns (27%) and Scotland’s towns (24%) alike. Self-reported good health: 76% of Campbeltown’s residents. 7.8% of residents report bad or very bad health.
| Census 2022 | Campbeltown | Argyll and Bute | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 7.5% | 7.2% |
| Activities limited (health or disability) | 28% | 27% | 24% |
Scotland’s Census 2022, general health and disability · Public Health Scotland life expectancy by intermediate zone, 2020–24 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
Campbeltown is the cheapest of the 5 towns in Argyll and Bute: its median sale is £73,900. Private tenants account for 8% of households. 34% live in social housing, higher than both Argyll and Bute’s towns (23%) and Scotland’s towns (24%). The owner-occupied share of households is 55%.
Registers of Scotland data-zone sale prices · Scottish Government council tax · Scotland’s Census 2022 tenure · OGL · The Scottish median is our estimate from data-zone sales, brought to early-2025 prices.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
For its size, Campbeltown has the second most listed buildings of the towns in Argyll and Bute. Its listed buildings include the Hall Street, The Picture House, Category A. Of the town’s land, 10% lies in conservation areas, lower than Argyll and Bute’s towns (19%) yet higher than Scotland’s towns (1%). At the top of the list, 5 are Category A and 84 Category B.
Historic Environment Scotland list, October 2026 · OGL
Children under 15 make up 14%, below Argyll and Bute’s towns (15%) and Scotland’s towns (15%) alike. Over-65s are 27% of the population. Typical age in Campbeltown: 49.6, the median. The share aged 15 to 24 is 9%.
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
| Campbeltown | Argyll and Bute | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 14% | 15% | 15% |
| 15–24 | 9% | 9.3% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 21% | 26% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 29% | 27% |
| 65+ | 27% | 26% | 19% |
| No qualifications | 25% | 18% | 17% |
| Apprenticeship | 11% | 8.4% | 7.5% |
| Highers or similar | 12% | 11% | 11% |
| Degree level | 19% | 31% | 32% |
Scotland’s Census 2022 · Argyll and Bute and Scotland: all residents of their towns · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Campbeltown. Best known first.
MuseumBurnette Buildingin town
MuseumCampbeltown Heritage Centrein townAttractionAttractionGlen Scotia Distilleryin townAttractionAttractionSpringbank Distilleryin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
23 notable people were born in Campbeltown.
Hugh Henry Brackenridge: Gilbert Stuart, Public domain · William McTaggart: John Moffat, Public domain · Sir William Mackinnon, 1st Baronet: Eveleen Myers, Public domain · Bob Pursell: Port Vale F.C., Public domain
Town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland
Campbeltown is a locality of 4,427 people, in the Argyll and Bute council area. TownRatings uses National Records of Scotland’s 2022 localities as Scotland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council area, so its figures cover the town itself. Localities split the big settlements into their towns, as ONS’s 2022 boundaries split conurbations in England and Wales.
Built from NRS geography and Census 2022
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £73,900, against £277,000 in the typical town in England and Wales. On cost of living it is the 212th most affordable of 296 Scottish towns.
Campbeltown has 3 state schools; places are handled by the local council.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
That is 13.1 times the typical town in England and Wales for its size. Its Category A buildings include Hall Street, The Picture House. It also has 2 scheduled monuments.
Sources: Scotland’s Census 2022 (National Records of Scotland), output areas summed to the NRS 2022 locality · Registers of Scotland house price statistics, medians and quartiles of residential sales by 2022 data zone, 2004 to 2025 (the 2023 to 2025 headline brought to early-2025 prices with each council’s medians) · Scottish Government, Council Tax by band 2026-27; Scottish Water charges 2026-27 · Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland (crimes, offences and clear-up rates by council area, 2016-17 to 2025-26); Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2 crime domain and SIMD crime indicators (2014/15, 2017/18), 2011 data zones with Census 2022 residents · ONS gross disposable household income by council (2022), scaled to household income on England and Wales’s councils, with Scotland’s Census 2022 households · DWP / ONS Claimant Count via Nomis (2022 data zones, January to August 2026), over residents aged 16 to 64 at Scotland’s Census 2022; council series since 2015 · Scottish Government school contact list (31 July 2026) and school summary statistics (pupil census, September 2025); School Information Dashboard leavers’ attainment by school, 2022-23 to 2024-25 (data.gov.scot) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the 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.