Photo: Jim Barton · CC BY-SA 2.0No religion: 65% of residents, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. At 36%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. Ormiston’s 1,158 households held 2,587 residents at the 2022 Census. Across Ormiston, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
What the Census says about Ormiston’s people
More with no religion than most
65% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 30% Christian, against 51% and 39% across Scotland’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Many carers
366 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 15% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Ormiston is younger than 61% of UK towns: a median age of 43.1
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.6% of residents. 21% of residents are 65 or over, against 19% across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Ormiston, 43.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 78% of UK towns: 4.2%
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 33% of Ormiston’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 27%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. By way of comparison, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
Fewer shared households of unrelated adults than 61% of UK towns: 2.2%
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.
Compared with 38% across Scotland’s towns, 30% of households are one person living alone here. The census found that 27% of households have dependent children in Ormiston. For shared households of unrelated adults, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 3.5%.
20% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 73% 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 19% across Scotland’s towns, 22% of households live in a terraced house in Ormiston. Across Scotland’s towns, 18% of households live in a detached house. 16% of households have no car or van.
4% born outside the UK, fewer than in 78% 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Higher than in 62% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Where just over a third of those born abroad across Scotland’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 9.7%.
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns: 30%
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: 95% of Ormiston · East Lothian’s towns 91% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 95%, against 86% across Scotland’s towns. As a yardstick, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (2.7%), Pakistani (0.7%) and African (0.3%).
Ormiston ranks above 99% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 15%
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, against 42% across Scotland’s towns. Unpaid carers make up 12% across Scotland’s towns.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 24% of adults in Ormiston, 32% across Scotland’s towns; 16% have no qualification, against 17%.
Ranked by age, 54th youngest of 220 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Keele (20.6) and the oldest St Mary's Bay (60.8). Nearest to Ormiston in age: Shevington Moor (43), Cheswick Green (43.1), Godstone (43.2) and Newhey (43.3).
Around Ormiston, 2 of 7 towns have a higher median age
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ormiston | 2,587 | — | 43.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Tranent | 12,235 | 2.1 mi | 41.9 | 17% | 31% |
| Wallyford | 4,493 | 3.1 mi | 35.9 | 13% | 34% |
| Prestonpans | 10,623 | 3.3 mi | 40.2 | 16% | 29% |
| Cockenzie | 5,237 | 4 mi | 50.4 | 23% | 21% |
| Musselburgh | 21,476 | 4.5 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 23% |
| Dalkeith | 15,125 | 4.6 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 28% |
| Longniddry | 2,598 | 4.8 mi | 56.4 | 36% | 20% |
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 Ormiston’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 Ormiston’s residents
What is the population of Ormiston?
The 2022 Census counted 2,587 people in Ormiston’s locality.
What is the average age in Ormiston?
The median age was 43.1 at the 2022 Census, younger than 61% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Ormiston?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 91% across East Lothian’s towns. 4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Ormiston?
65% said they had no religion and 30% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1% were Muslim and 3.6% didn’t answer.
Is Ormiston good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Ormiston’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.