Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0Above 90% of UK towns: 24% of households live in a flat or apartment
Half of Anstruther’s residents are over 48.4, older than in 77% of UK towns. The 2022 Census counted 3,943 residents in 1,824 households. Here, just over a fifth of households have dependent children. Compared with 39% across Scotland’s towns, just over two in five residents describe themselves as Christian here.
Anstruther sits above 77% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (26%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The largest age band is 60–64: 7.6% of residents. As a yardstick, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 71% of UK towns: 9.1%. In Newport-on-Tay and Wormit, the oldest of Fife’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Anstruther, 48.4. 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.
Full-time students: 5.7%, a higher share than 78% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
In Anstruther, 31% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 24% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. The share of full-time students 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.
Anstruther households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 93% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Fife’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (Scotland’s towns: 3.5%). Census figures put one-person households at 37% in Anstruther.
22% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 68% 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
By its share of households in terraced houses (23%), Anstruther is above 62% of UK towns. Here, 18% of households have no car or van.
Anstruther: 7.5% of residents born outside the UK
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 (3.8%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.9%). Across Scotland’s towns, 11% of residents were born outside the UK. 98% of residents have English as their main language, a higher share than in 52% of UK towns.
No religion: 53% of residents, a higher share than 97% 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 Anstruther · Fife’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (5.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Pakistani (0.2%). For residents with no religion, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 51%. More residents who describe themselves as White British than in 61% of UK towns: 93%.
Fewer adults who have never married than 77% of UK towns: 29%
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
The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 106. Adults who have never married: 40% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. At 12%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 97% of UK towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 33%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 33% of Anstruther’s adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 16% have no qualification (17%).
194th highest median age among 531 UK towns of 3,000 to 5,000
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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Milford on Sea (64.6), the oldest. Nearest to Anstruther in age: Mayland (48.4), Windlesham (48.4), Bishopthorpe (48.5) and Gilberdyke (48.5).
Around Anstruther, 1 of 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anstruther | 3,943 | — | 48.4 | 26% | 22% |
| St Andrews | 16,465 | 8.7 mi | 23.9 | 17% | 12% |
| North Berwick | 8,314 | 11.8 mi | 50.8 | 28% | 26% |
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.
- “Fife’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Fife (or Scotland), summed the same way as Anstruther’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 Anstruther’s residents
What is the population of Anstruther?
The 2022 Census counted 3,943 people in Anstruther’s locality.
What is the average age in Anstruther?
The median age was 48.4 at the 2022 Census, older than 77% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Anstruther?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Fife’s towns. 7.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Anstruther?
53% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Anstruther good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Anstruther’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.