Wallyford’s story
1 listed building
Historic Environment Scotland lists them inside Wallyford’s locality.
Explore the history →
WallyfordEast Lothian
Some 4,493 people live in this town, in East Lothian, Scotland. A Band D home pays £1,698 in council tax.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Ian S · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
4,493
Census 2022 · East Lothian council
Median home
£298K
774 sales in 3 years
Median age
35.9
13% are 65+ · East Lothian 21%
Degree level
25%
of residents 16+ · Scotland 32%
Walk, cycle, bus
25%
of commuters · Scotland 27%
Is Wallyford a good place to live?
Walking, cycling and public transport work well here: a quarter of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. The weak point is schools (D): school leavers’ results beat nearly a tenth of Scottish towns. It takes 5.5 years of household income in the East Lothian council area to buy the median home, at £298,400. Hazard risk is lower than in most UK towns (A). Health is weaker too (D) — life expectancy 77.6 for men, 79.6 for women.
Figures: commuting, Census 2022 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes and life expectancy, ONS · flood risk, SEPA. Wallyford has no Safety Grade, because Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, and so no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
How Wallyford grades
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Scotland), ordered by how far Wallyford is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Wallyford has no Safety Grade, because Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, and so no overall grade. Every other subject still has a grade below.
Hazard risk0% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaAOpen →SchoolsSchool leavers’ results beat 9% of Scottish townsDOpen →WalkabilityGraded on how easily people get around without a carAOpen →HealthHealth outcomes are among the weakest comparedDOpen →Cost of livingRent £1,507 a monthB−Open →
SafetyNo street-level crime data–
Jobs & incomeNo small-area income data in Scotland–
How TownRatings grades towns →
What makes Wallyford stand out
The 3 things Wallyford does most differently from other towns.
Band D council tax
Council tax
£1,698 Band D
31% below the typical town in England and Wales’s £2,472, 2026–27
The council’s Band D; water and sewerage are billed on top. Scottish Government.
Rent against income, UK towns
Renting
£1,507 a month
Average private rent, 34% of what households in the area earn: more than in 98% of UK towns
ONS private rents, Lothian council area.
Residents 65 and over
Who lives here
Only 13% are 65 or over
Against 19% across Scotland’s towns
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Wallyford.
SchoolsD
Results at Wallyford’s schools trail 91% of Scottish towns
DSchool Grade
Wallyford’s one primary and one secondary have 1,175 pupils between them. Both of its schools are shown below. Its two schools are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wallyford Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 577 | – |
| Rosehill High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 598 | – |
Scottish Government · school statistics and leavers’ results · The grade uses the secondaries its children go to; Scotland publishes no primary results by school.See all 2 schools →
Work & commute
More people aged 16 to 64 in Wallyford claim unemployment benefits than in East Lothian’s towns or Scotland’s towns: 3.2%
25%walk, cycle or ride
Scotland’s Census was taken on 20 March 2022, a year after England and Wales’s lockdown census; 35% of workers were mainly at home, and shares here are of those who travelled.
About 3% of its commuters stay in Wallyford for work. The town counts 0.5 jobs per working resident. 23% of commuters travelled under 5 km, lower than both East Lothian’s towns (27%) and Scotland’s towns (44%). At the census, 73% of commuters went by car.
How commuters got to work · March 2022
Driving73%
Bus14%
Train5%
On foot3%
Bicycle2%
23%
of commuters travel under 5 km · Scotland 44%
35%
worked mainly from home in March 2022
3.2%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A
Walkability: more walkable than 89% of UK towns
Scotland’s Census 2022 (NRS), method of travel and distance to work · DWP claimant count · OGL
Health
Life expectancy in Wallyford is shorter than in 89% of UK towns
81%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
21% of residents in Wallyford live with a disability. At the census, 5.8% of people here described their health as bad or very bad. Self-reported good health: just over four fifths of the town’s residents.
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 81%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 6%
| Census 2022 | Wallyford | East Lothian | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 81% | 81% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 5.9% | 7.2% |
| Activities limited (health or disability) | 21% | 23% | 24% |
77.6
life expectancy at birth, men (2020–24)
79.6
life expectancy at birth, women
Scotland’s Census 2022, general health and disability · Public Health Scotland life expectancy by intermediate zone, 2020–24 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy and early deaths.
History
Wallyford’s one listed building is Category C
1listed buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Wallyford has 1 listed building inside its locality on Historic Environment Scotland’s list, all Category C.
Listed buildings by grade · Historic Environment Scotland
Category A0
Category B0
Category C1
0
scheduled monuments
0
gardens and designed landscapes
2
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical town in England and Wales 24
Historic Environment Scotland list, October 2026 · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B−
Buying in Wallyford costs more than in both East Lothian’s towns and Scotland’s towns, at an estimated median of £298K
£298Kmedian sale
Private renters make up 6% of households. Nearly two thirds of households own their home, close to East Lothian’s towns (66%) and above Scotland’s towns (60%). Council and housing-body homes hold 26% of households.
Median sale price · 2023 to 2025, at early-2025 prices
Wallyford£298K
Typical UK town£277K
66%
of households own their home · Scotland 60%
6%
rent privately · Scotland 13%
£1,507
average private rent a month, Lothian council area
£1,698
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
Registers of Scotland data-zone sale prices · Scottish Government council tax · Scotland’s Census 2022 tenure · OGL · The Scottish median is our estimate from data-zone sales, brought to early-2025 prices.
Who lives here
Wallyford has fewer older residents than East Lothian’s towns or Scotland’s towns: 13% are 65 or over
35.9median age
The 15-to-24 age group: 9.9%, below both East Lothian’s towns (10%) and Scotland’s towns (12%). Under-15s account for 21% of the population. Typical age in Wallyford: 35.9, the median. Also worth knowing: a quarter of adults hold a degree.
WallyfordEast LothianScotland
Ages · share of residents
10%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship11%
Highers or similar11%
Degree level25%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
| Wallyford | East Lothian | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 21% | 17% | 15% |
| 15–24 | 9.9% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 32% | 24% | 26% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 28% | 27% |
| 65+ | 13% | 21% | 19% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 15% | 17% |
| Apprenticeship | 11% | 8.5% | 7.5% |
| Highers or similar | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| Degree level | 25% | 33% | 32% |
Scotland’s Census 2022 · East Lothian and Scotland: all residents of their towns · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Wallyford
14pages on Wallyford
The big questions
SafetyNot graded · 0% live in Scotland’s most crime-deprived fifthCost of livingB−Median home £298K · rent £1,507 a monthSchoolsD2 state schoolsHealthDLife expectancy 77.6 (men), 79.6 (women)Work & commute51% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsA0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Fa'side Castle and 12 more in and around Wallyford
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Wallyford. Best known first.
CastleFa'side Castle900 m outside town, to the southeast
CastleDalkeith Palace4.3 km outside town, to the southwest
Garden · National Trust for ScotlandInveresk Lodge Garden900 m outside town, to the west
Historic houseCarberry Tower1.5 km outside town, to the south
CastlePreston Tower1.8 km outside town, to the northeast
MuseumPrestongrange Mining Museum800 m outside town, to the northPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (6)
- Fa'side Castle: GreigBrash, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Dalkeith Palace: Benbilgri at en.wikipedia, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Inveresk Lodge Garden: Renata Edge, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Carberry Tower: Jimmydenham, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
- Preston Tower: Otter, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Prestongrange Mining Museum: Renata, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Famous people from Wallyford
6 notable people were born in Wallyford.
J
Jock WallaceScottish footballer and manager (1935-1996)G
George ForrestScottish footballer · born 1901W
Willie WilsonScottish footballer (1941-2001)G
Gordon HunterScottish footballer (born 1967)Photo credits
Margaret Oliphant: No photo credit, Public domain
About Wallyford
Town in East Lothian, Scotland
Wallyford is a locality of 4,493 people, in the East Lothian council area. TownRatings uses National Records of Scotland’s 2022 localities as Scotland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council area, so its figures cover the town itself. Localities split the big settlements into their towns, as ONS’s 2022 boundaries split conurbations in England and Wales.
Built from NRS geography and Census 2022
- Population
- 4,493 (Census 2022)
- Council
- East Lothian
- Nation
- Scotland
- Area
- 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km²)
- NRS code
- S52000634
Wallyford’s neighbours
The nearest towns and villages, from National Records of Scotland’s 2022 localities. See them on the map →
MusselburghPrestonpansTranentOrmistonCockenzieDalkeithDanderhallWallyford
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wallyford | 4,493 | — | — | B− | — | D |
| Musselburgh | 21,476 | 1.5 | — | B+ | — | C− |
| Prestonpans | 10,623 | 1.8 | — | A− | — | D |
| Tranent | 12,235 | 2.4 | — | B+ | — | C− |
| Ormiston | 2,587 | 3.1 | — | B | — | C− |
| Cockenzie | 5,237 | 3.2 | — | B+ | — | C |
| Dalkeith | 15,125 | 3.6 | — | B | — | C− |
| Danderhall | 3,389 | 4 | — | B | — | C− |
No Scottish town has a Safety Grade or an overall grade yet: Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime. People: Census 2022. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Wallyford
Are schools in Wallyford good?
Wallyford has 2 state schools; places are handled by the local council.
Does Wallyford flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
Sources: Scotland’s Census 2022 (National Records of Scotland), output areas summed to the NRS 2022 locality · Registers of Scotland house price statistics, medians and quartiles of residential sales by 2022 data zone, 2004 to 2025 (the 2023 to 2025 headline brought to early-2025 prices with each council’s medians) · Scottish Government, Council Tax by band 2026-27; Scottish Water charges 2026-27 · Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland (crimes, offences and clear-up rates by council area, 2016-17 to 2025-26); Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2 crime domain and SIMD crime indicators (2014/15, 2017/18), 2011 data zones with Census 2022 residents · ONS gross disposable household income by council (2022), scaled to household income on England and Wales’s councils, with Scotland’s Census 2022 households · DWP / ONS Claimant Count via Nomis (2022 data zones, January to August 2026), over residents aged 16 to 64 at Scotland’s Census 2022; council series since 2015 · Scottish Government school contact list (31 July 2026) and school summary statistics (pupil census, September 2025); School Information Dashboard leavers’ attainment by school, 2022-23 to 2024-25 (data.gov.scot) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the 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.