Photo: Oliver Dixon · CC BY-SA 2.0Buckhaven sits above 99% of UK towns for one-person households (44%)
Against a figure of 29% across Scotland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Buckhaven comes in at 36%. Households in detached houses: 7% of the total. Married adults and civil partners are rarer here than in 97% of UK towns. The town is home to 4,413 residents in 2,231 households, by the 2022 Census.
What the Census says about Buckhaven’s people
More with no religion than most
65% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 27% Christian, against 51% and 39% across Scotland’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
13% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
20–24 is the most common age band: 7.3% of residents. On residents aged 65 and over, Buckhaven sits higher than 54% of UK towns: 22%. 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+
■ Buckhaven, 44.4. 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.
More full-time students than 89% of UK towns: 6.6%
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 17% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 39% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Elsewhere, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 99% of UK towns: 2 people on average
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.
Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Higher than in 72% of UK towns: 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
More households in flats than 98% of UK towns: 39%
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
19% of households live in a terraced house across Scotland’s towns, against 23% in Buckhaven.
Buckhaven ranks below 68% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 4.7%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.4%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 11% across Scotland’s towns. Higher than in 52% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up a third of those born abroad (Scotland’s towns: 34%).
Residents with no religion: 65%, a higher share than 99% 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: 94% of Buckhaven · Fife’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (2.3%), Pakistani (0.9%) and Mixed or multiple (0.9%). 27% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a lower share than in 99% of UK towns. For residents with no religion, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 51%. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 94%, against 86% across Scotland’s towns.
Buckhaven ranks above 99% of UK towns on unpaid carers: 14%
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
181 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. By way of comparison, 12% of residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns. Buckhaven has more adults who have never married than 93% of UK towns, at 42%.
14% of adults have qualifications at degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 17% of adults have no qualification; in Buckhaven, 25%, while 14% hold one at degree level (32%). Highers are as far as 11% have gone so far, many of them students midway to a degree.
Of 696 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 230th youngest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Bailrigg is the youngest (18.9); Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe the oldest (64.7). Nearest to Buckhaven in age: Treharris (44.4), Fleur-de-lis and Pengam (44.4), Lofthouse and Robin Hood (44.5) and Haddenham (44.5).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 4 are older than Buckhaven
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buckhaven | 4,413 | — | 44.4 | 22% | 23% |
| Methil | 10,712 | 1 mi | 40.9 | 19% | 23% |
| Leven | 10,088 | 2.1 mi | 44 | 22% | 23% |
| Kennoway | 4,665 | 2.6 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Glenrothes | 37,466 | 5.7 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 25% |
| Kirkcaldy and Dysart | 51,135 | 6.2 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 24% |
| Leslie | 2,888 | 7.2 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 23% |
| Cardenden and Auchterderran | 5,266 | 8.8 mi | 44.9 | 22% | 27% |
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 Buckhaven’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 Buckhaven’s residents
What is the population of Buckhaven?
The 2022 Census counted 4,413 people in Buckhaven’s locality.
What is the average age in Buckhaven?
The median age was 44.4 at the 2022 Census, younger than 51% of UK towns. 13% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Buckhaven?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Fife’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Buckhaven?
65% said they had no religion and 27% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Buckhaven good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Buckhaven’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.