Photo: Colin Park · CC BY-SA 2.0Helensburgh households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 91% of UK towns
Nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns, against 43% in Helensburgh. Few places have so few households in terraced houses: 11% here, fewer than in 85% of UK towns. At the 2022 Census Helensburgh was home to 14,128 people in 6,578 households. Households with dependent children: 22% of the total.
Half of Helensburgh is over 48.4, older than 77% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 25%, more than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. In Rothesay, the oldest of Argyll and Bute’s towns by this measure, it is 32%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Helensburgh, 48.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 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.
In Helensburgh, 5.3% of adults are full-time students, more than in 69% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
By class, 41% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). For comparison, 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.
A higher share of one-person households than 93% of UK towns, at 36%
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Argyll and Bute’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.9%, against 3.5% across Scotland’s towns. Across the comparison, 38% of households are one person living alone across Scotland’s towns.
Above 77% of UK towns: 21% of households have no car or van
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
Set against 18% across Scotland’s towns, 32% of households live in a detached house in Helensburgh. One household in every 5 has no car or van. On households in flats, Helensburgh sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 40%.
Helensburgh sits above 69% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (98%)
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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). Across Scotland’s towns, 94% of residents have English as their main language. Since 2017: 23% of those born abroad, against 34% across Scotland’s towns.
No religion: 49% of residents, a higher share than 91% 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 Helensburgh · Argyll and Bute’s towns 93% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (3.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Chinese (0.4%). Typically, just over half of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. Set against 86% across Scotland’s towns, 93% of residents describe themselves as White British in Helensburgh.
29% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, below 75% 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
Unpaid carers make up 12%, close to the figure across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. On the census count, 51% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
A degree-level qualification for 39% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
12% of Helensburgh’s adults have no qualification (17% across Scotland’s towns), and 39% have one at degree level (32%).
Among 361 UK towns of 10,000 to 19,000 people, the 63rd 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 Helensburgh in age: Streetly (48.3), Polegate (48.4), Gillingham (48.5) and Knaresborough (48.6).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Helensburgh
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helensburgh | 14,128 | — | 48.4 | 25% | 22% |
| Greenock | 42,870 | 4.6 mi | 45.5 | 21% | 23% |
| Gourock | 10,072 | 5.4 mi | 52 | 27% | 18% |
| Alexandria | 6,260 | 5.5 mi | 50 | 25% | 19% |
| Port Glasgow | 14,260 | 5.8 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 24% |
| Balloch and Haldane | 6,000 | 5.9 mi | 48.6 | 23% | 24% |
| Bonhill | 8,608 | 6.4 mi | 41.8 | 16% | 27% |
| Dumbarton | 21,027 | 7.4 mi | 43.4 | 20% | 24% |
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.
- “Argyll and Bute’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Argyll and Bute (or Scotland), summed the same way as Helensburgh’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 Helensburgh’s residents
What is the population of Helensburgh?
The 2022 Census counted 14,128 people in Helensburgh’s locality.
What is the average age in Helensburgh?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2022 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 25% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Helensburgh?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 93% across Argyll and Bute’s towns. 6.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Helensburgh?
49% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Helensburgh good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Helensburgh’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.