Photo: Wikiwayman at English Wikipedia · CC BY 3.0A higher share of married adults and civil partners than 99% of UK towns, at 62%
Here 45% of households live in a detached house, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 18%. At the 2022 Census Bearsden was home to 28,507 people in 11,457 households. Households in terraced houses account for 9.6%. Compared with other places, shared households of unrelated adults are scarce here: 1.3%, fewer than in 97% of UK towns.
Half of Bearsden is over 48, older than 74% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
With residents aged 65 and over at 26%, Bearsden is ahead of 76% of UK towns on that count. Locally, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bearsden, 48. 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.
More students than 93% of UK towns: 7.5% of adults in Bearsden
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 or semi-routine work; Bearsden has 56% and 10%. Full-time students: 9.4% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Fewer one-person households than 88% of UK towns: 24%
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against East Dunbartonshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
31% of households have dependent children, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Typically, 38% of households are one person living alone across Scotland’s towns. On average, 2.5 people share a household.
Households without a car or van make up 10% in Bearsden, less than in 82% 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
15% of households live in a flat or apartment; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 39%. Across Scotland’s towns, 29% of households have no car or van.
A higher share of residents born outside the UK than 67% of UK towns, at 8.6%
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
94% of residents have English as their main language across Scotland’s towns, against 97% in Bearsden. Residents born outside the UK: 11% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (3.9%) and in EU countries (2%).
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 81% of UK towns, at 44%
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: 86% of Bearsden · East Dunbartonshire’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
43% of residents said they have no religion (Scotland’s towns: 51%). The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 39% across Scotland’s towns. On the census count, 86% of residents describe themselves as White British.
Fewer adults who have never married than 97% of UK towns: 23%
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
613 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Against that, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. On unpaid carers, Bearsden sits higher than 98% of UK towns: 12%.
Degree-level qualifications: 56% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 56% of its adults qualified to degree level, Bearsden compares with 32% across Scotland’s towns; another 7.8% hold no qualification (17%). Highers are as far as 11% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
Among 239 UK towns of 20,000 to 38,000 people, the 25th oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Egham is the youngest (31.1); Rustington the oldest (56.2). Nearest to Bearsden in age: Hazlemere (47.5), Chapeltown and High Green (47.9), Skegness (48.1) and Kenilworth (48.2).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Bearsden
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bearsden | 28,507 | — | 48 | 26% | 31% |
| Milngavie | 12,758 | 1.7 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 25% |
| Faifley | 4,785 | 2.4 mi | 36.2 | 12% | 33% |
| Clydebank | 26,220 | 3 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 22% |
| Duntocher and Hardgate | 6,573 | 3.1 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 23% |
| Renfrew | 23,812 | 3.9 mi | 42.1 | 20% | 23% |
| Erskine | 14,857 | 4.7 mi | 46.3 | 22% | 26% |
| Bishopbriggs | 23,759 | 4.7 mi | 45.8 | 23% | 27% |
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.
- “East Dunbartonshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in East Dunbartonshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Bearsden’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 Bearsden’s residents
What is the population of Bearsden?
The 2022 Census counted 28,507 people in Bearsden’s locality.
What is the average age in Bearsden?
The median age was 48 at the 2022 Census, older than 74% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bearsden?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across East Dunbartonshire’s towns. 8.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bearsden?
43% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 2.6% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Bearsden good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Bearsden’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.