Photo: Rob Farrow · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Rothesay is over 55.2, older than 97% of UK towns
The figure for households with dependent children is 15% in Rothesay and 24% across Scotland’s towns. This Argyll and Bute town counted 4,206 residents and 2,331 households at the 2022 Census. Across Rothesay, 11% of households live in a detached house. 12% of households live in a terraced house, a lower share than in 83% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Rothesay’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Rothesay’s residents are under 55.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 32% are 65 or over, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. Ages ↓
A town of flats
59% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 99% of UK towns. 40% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
32% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Set against 12% across Scotland’s towns, 7.9% of residents are aged 15 to 24 in Rothesay. On average, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Rothesay, 55.2. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
A lower share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns, at 2.8%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
By class, 26% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Against that, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
In Rothesay, 51% of households are one person living alone, more than in 99% of UK towns
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.
Households in Rothesay hold 1.8 people on average (Scotland’s towns: 2.1). Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 1.5% in the town. On average, 38% of households are one person living alone across Scotland’s towns.
In Rothesay, 59% of households live in a flat or apartment, 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
Set against 29% across Scotland’s towns, two in five households have no car or van in Rothesay. For comparison, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns.
In Rothesay, 97% of residents have English as their main language, 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
Just over a quarter of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2.6%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). Set beside that, 94% of residents have English as their main language across Scotland’s towns.
Rothesay: 48% of residents said they have no religion, above 89% 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 Rothesay · Argyll and Bute’s towns 93% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Islam is the religion of 1.4% of residents. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 44% here, fewer than in just over four fifths of UK towns. For residents with no religion, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 51%. 93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 93% across Argyll and Bute’s towns and 86% across Scotland’s towns.
Unpaid carers: 12%, a higher share than 98% 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
Set against 40% across Scotland’s towns, 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Rothesay. At 50 hours or more a week, 135 people give unpaid care. Lower than in 83% of UK towns: 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
25% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Rothesay counts 25% of its adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; at the other end, 23% have no qualification (17%).
36th oldest of 696 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7). Nearest to Rothesay in age: Topsham (55), Brockenhurst (55.1), Tickhill (55.3) and Nettleham (55.4).
Rothesay and its 4 nearest towns: 1 of them are 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
- “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 Rothesay’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 Rothesay’s residents
What is the population of Rothesay?
The 2022 Census counted 4,206 people in Rothesay’s locality.
What is the average age in Rothesay?
The median age was 55.2 at the 2022 Census, older than 97% of UK towns. 7.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 32% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rothesay?
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 Rothesay?
48% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Rothesay good for families?
15% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Rothesay’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.