Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Dalbeattie is over 52.9, older than 94% of UK towns
Against a figure of 86% across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British in Dalbeattie comes in at 98%. The 2022 Census put the town’s population at 4,134, in 2,111 households. Across Dalbeattie, just over two in five households are one person living alone. Nearly a quarter of households have no car or van, more than in 82% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Dalbeattie’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Dalbeattie’s residents are under 52.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 31% are 65 or over, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Above 93% of UK towns: 31% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across Scotland’s towns. Elsewhere, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dalbeattie, 52.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
Only 4.1% of adults are full-time students in Dalbeattie
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine work; in Dalbeattie, 26% and 33%. Measured more widely, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
Households with dependent children: 19%, a lower share than 96% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Dumfries and Galloway’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Households average 2 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. Across the comparison, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns. For Dalbeattie, the census puts shared households of unrelated adults at 1.8%.
A higher share of households in terraced houses than 80% of UK towns, at 28%
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
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of households in flats is 39%; Dalbeattie has 13%. Against that, nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house across Scotland’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 2.1%
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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (0.9%) or in Africa (0.6%). Across Scotland’s towns, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK. 100% of residents have English as their main language, against 94% across Scotland’s towns.
More residents with no religion than 97% of UK towns: 54%
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: 98% of Dalbeattie · Dumfries and Galloway’s towns 95% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns, against 40% in Dalbeattie. Across Scotland’s towns, residents with no religion come to 51%.
Only 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership in Dalbeattie
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
46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 42%. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 95% of UK towns. By way of comparison, 40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 23% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 23% of adults in Dalbeattie (Scotland’s towns: 32%), and no qualification by 23% (Scotland’s towns: 17%).
67th 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.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Dalbeattie in age: New Alresford (52.8), Walton (52.9), Darley Dale (53.1) and Billinge (53.3).
Dalbeattie and its 2 nearest towns: 1 of them are older
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalbeattie | 4,134 | — | 52.9 | 31% | 19% |
| Castle Douglas | 4,061 | 4.3 mi | 51 | 28% | 19% |
| Kirkcudbright | 3,219 | 11.1 mi | 56.3 | 36% | 16% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Dumfries and Galloway’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Dumfries and Galloway (or Scotland), summed the same way as Dalbeattie’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 Dalbeattie’s residents
What is the population of Dalbeattie?
The 2022 Census counted 4,134 people in Dalbeattie’s locality.
What is the average age in Dalbeattie?
The median age was 52.9 at the 2022 Census, older than 94% of UK towns. 9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 31% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dalbeattie?
98% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 95% across Dumfries and Galloway’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dalbeattie?
54% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Dalbeattie good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Dalbeattie’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.