Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion: 60%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
21% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 39% across Scotland’s towns. Households with dependent children: 31% of the total. On households in terraced houses, Tranent sits higher than just over three quarters of UK towns: 27%. The 2022 Census counted 12,235 residents in 5,072 households.
Younger than 70% of UK towns: half of Tranent is under 41.9
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
More residents are 50–54 than any other five-year age: 8.6% of residents. Lower than in 82% of UK towns: 17% of residents are 65 or over. There is little gap on residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, about the same as across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Tranent, 41.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Tranent: 5.7% of adults are full-time students, above 78% of UK towns
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 28% of Tranent’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 28%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. For full-time students, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 9.4%.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Tranent households average 2.4 people, larger than in 77% of UK towns
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.
Across Scotland’s towns, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; in Tranent, 1.8%. The census found that 29% of households are one person living alone in the town.
More households without a car or van than 76% of UK towns: 21%
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
Just over a quarter of households live in a detached house; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 18%. In one household in 5 there is no car or van, the 3rd highest share in East Lothian.
Residents whose main language is English: 97%, a lower share than 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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (3.4%) and in Africa (0.7%). Across the comparison, 94% of residents have English as their main language across Scotland’s towns. Where just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns, Tranent has 5.6%.
33% of residents describe themselves as Christian, below 98% 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 Tranent · East Lothian’s towns 91% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (4.4%), Pakistani (0.8%) and Mixed or multiple (0.8%). On average, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. 93% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 91% across East Lothian’s towns and 86% across Scotland’s towns.
A higher share of adults who have never married than 75% of UK towns, at 37%
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 392. Adults who have never married make up 40% across Scotland’s towns. 13% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% of UK towns. Meanwhile, across Scotland’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 42%; Tranent has 47%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 22% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 22% of adults in Tranent (Scotland’s towns: 32%), and no qualification by 17% (Scotland’s towns: 17%).
383 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people: this is the 106th youngest
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 Aberystwyth (25), the youngest, and Sidmouth (60.4), the oldest. Nearest to Tranent in age: Southborough (41.9), Street (41.9), Flitwick (42) and Tyldesley (42.1).
A younger town than 3 of the 7 around it: Tranent
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tranent | 12,235 | — | 41.9 | 17% | 31% |
| Prestonpans | 10,623 | 1.5 mi | 40.2 | 16% | 29% |
| Cockenzie | 5,237 | 1.9 mi | 50.4 | 23% | 21% |
| Ormiston | 2,587 | 2.1 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 27% |
| Wallyford | 4,493 | 2.4 mi | 35.9 | 13% | 34% |
| Longniddry | 2,598 | 3 mi | 56.4 | 36% | 20% |
| Musselburgh | 21,476 | 3.9 mi | 41.6 | 19% | 23% |
| Dalkeith | 15,125 | 5.4 mi | 41.2 | 19% | 28% |
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 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 Tranent’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 Tranent’s residents
What is the population of Tranent?
The 2022 Census counted 12,235 people in Tranent’s locality.
What is the average age in Tranent?
The median age was 41.9 at the 2022 Census, younger than 70% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tranent?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 91% across East Lothian’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tranent?
60% said they had no religion and 33% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Tranent good for families?
31% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Tranent’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.