Photo: Bob Simpson · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion: 56%, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
By its share of households in flats (25%), Bo'ness is above 91% of UK towns. The 2022 Census counted 14,875 residents in 6,968 households. Census figures put one-person households at 35% locally. The town has more households in terraced houses than 72% of UK towns, at 26%.
In Bo'ness, 9.3% of residents are aged 15 to 24, fewer than in 65% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Set against 19% across Scotland’s towns, just over a fifth of residents are 65 or over in Bo'ness. For comparison, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Scotland’s towns. 50–54 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents. With a median age of 44.8, Bo'ness is older than 52% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bo'ness, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
4.7% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 56% 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 take in 30% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 30% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). The comparison figure for full-time students is 9.4% across Scotland’s towns.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 88% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Falkirk’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 3.5%; Bo'ness has 1.5%. What’s more, on households with dependent children, Bo'ness sits lower than 75% of UK towns: 25%.
Households without a car or van: 20%, a higher share than 71% 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
Against a figure of 18% across Scotland’s towns, the share of households in detached houses in Bo'ness comes in at 21%. Households without a car or van make up 29% across Scotland’s towns.
Only 96% of residents have English as their main language in Bo'ness
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
Just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns, against 6% in Bo'ness. Residents whose main language is English make up 94% across Scotland’s towns.
Bo'ness ranks below 96% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 38%
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 Bo'ness · Falkirk’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 86% across Scotland’s towns, 93% of residents describe themselves as White British here. To put it in context, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Next after White British come Other White (5%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and African (0.2%).
12% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 98% 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
Adults who have never married: 33% here and 40% across Scotland’s towns. 420 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Lower than in 53% of UK towns: 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 24% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 24% of its adults qualified to degree level, Bo'ness compares with 32% across Scotland’s towns; another 19% hold no qualification (17%).
Of 385 UK towns its size (10,000 to 20,000 people), the 168th oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Bo'ness in age: Weybourne (44.8), Hassocks and Hurstpierpoint (44.8), Kidsgrove (44.9) and Somercotes and Swanwick (44.9).
5 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Bo'ness
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bo'ness | 14,875 | — | 44.8 | 21% | 25% |
| Linlithgow | 12,522 | 2.4 mi | 48.3 | 24% | 27% |
| Polmont | 5,044 | 4.3 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 19% |
| Grangemouth | 16,028 | 4.4 mi | 45.3 | 21% | 20% |
| Maddiston | 3,835 | 4.4 mi | 36.2 | 12% | 38% |
| Cairneyhill | 2,657 | 4.4 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Brightons | 4,048 | 4.9 mi | 45.6 | 21% | 28% |
| Redding | 3,812 | 5.6 mi | 37.2 | 14% | 36% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Falkirk’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Falkirk (or Scotland), summed the same way as Bo'ness’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 Bo'ness’s residents
What is the population of Bo'ness?
The 2022 Census counted 14,875 people in Bo'ness’s locality.
What is the average age in Bo'ness?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2022 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 9.3% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bo'ness?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across Falkirk’s towns. 6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bo'ness?
56% said they had no religion and 38% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 4.9% didn’t answer.
Is Bo'ness good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Bo'ness’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.