Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0North Berwick is older than 89% of UK towns: a median age of 50.8
30% of households live in a flat or apartment; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 39%. North Berwick’s 3,659 households held 8,314 residents at the 2022 Census. Adults who have never married: nearly a quarter of the total. Few places have as many residents with no religion: 54% here, more than in 98% of UK towns.
What the Census says about North Berwick’s people
Older than most towns
Half of North Berwick’s residents are under 50.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% 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).
A lower share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 89% of UK towns, at 8.3%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with nearly one in ten residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are common here: 28%, more than in 86% of UK towns. Across Scotland’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. In Longniddry, the oldest of East Lothian’s towns by this measure, it is 36%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ North Berwick, 50.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
53% women, 47% men
About 90 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.
Fewer full-time students than 61% of UK towns: 4.6%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Managerial and professional jobs account for half of North Berwick’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 15%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Set beside that, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
Only 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in North Berwick
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against East Lothian’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Nearly a third of households are one person living alone, against 38% across Scotland’s towns. Measured more widely, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Scotland’s towns. Average household size: 2.3 people.
North Berwick sits below 78% of UK towns for households in terraced houses (13%)
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
17% of households have no car or van, against 29% across Scotland’s towns. The benchmark for households in terraced houses across Scotland’s towns: 19%. The share of households in detached houses stands at 41%.
8.2% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 65% of UK towns don’t reach
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
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are just over a fifth of those born abroad (against 34% across Scotland’s towns). The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 11% across Scotland’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.8%).
Below 96% of UK towns: 37% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 92% of North Berwick · East Lothian’s towns 91% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Arab (0.4%). As a yardstick, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. 92% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 91% across East Lothian’s towns and 86% across Scotland’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners: 58%, a higher share than 96% 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
At 12%, unpaid carers sit close to the figure across Scotland’s towns. Elsewhere, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. 184 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week.
Degree-level qualifications reach 52% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
In North Berwick, 52% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns, while 9.5% have no qualification at all (17%).
425 UK towns of 6,000 to 11,000 people: this is the 42nd oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to North Berwick in age: Braunton (50.6), Washingborough and Heighington (50.7), Longton (50.9) and Werrington (50.9).
A younger town than 2 of the 7 around it: North Berwick
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Berwick | 8,314 | — | 50.8 | 28% | 26% |
| Gullane | 2,897 | 4.1 mi | 53.8 | 33% | 24% |
| Haddington | 11,364 | 7.2 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 28% |
| Longniddry | 2,598 | 8.7 mi | 56.4 | 36% | 20% |
| Dunbar | 10,746 | 8.9 mi | 43.4 | 20% | 33% |
| Cockenzie | 5,237 | 10.6 mi | 50.4 | 23% | 21% |
| Tranent | 12,235 | 11.7 mi | 41.9 | 17% | 31% |
| Anstruther | 3,943 | 11.8 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “East Lothian’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in East Lothian (or Scotland), summed the same way as North Berwick’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 North Berwick’s residents
What is the population of North Berwick?
The 2022 Census counted 8,314 people in North Berwick’s locality.
What is the average age in North Berwick?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2022 Census, older than 89% of UK towns. 8.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is North Berwick?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 91% across East Lothian’s towns. 8.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in North Berwick?
54% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.4% didn’t answer.
Is North Berwick good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on North Berwick’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.