Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion make up 62% in Dunfermline, more than in 99% of UK towns
28% of households live in a flat or apartment, against 39% across Scotland’s towns. Dunfermline had 56,053 residents and 24,911 households at the 2022 Census, with a median age of 41.3 (younger than 73% of UK towns). The share of one-person households stands at 34%. Compared with other places, households without a car or van are common here: 21%, more than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
What the Census says about Dunfermline’s people
More with no religion than most
62% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 30% 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).
Half of Dunfermline is under 41.3, younger than 73% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 (Scotland’s towns: 12%). In Dunfermline, 17% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dunfermline, 41.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 5.9% in Dunfermline, more than in 82% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine or semi-routine work; Dunfermline has 38% and 24%. The wider picture: 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.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 66% 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults is 2.1%, against 3.5% across Scotland’s towns. 28% of households have dependent children.
A larger share of households in detached houses than 58% of UK towns: 32%
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
With households in terraced houses at 18%, Dunfermline is behind three fifths of UK towns on that count.
Dunfermline ranks above 69% of UK towns on residents born outside the UK: 8.8%
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
Born abroad and arrived since 2017: nearly a quarter of that group, against 34% across Scotland’s towns. The wider picture: just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. 96% of residents have English as their main language.
30% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 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: 89% of Dunfermline · Fife’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
After White British, the largest groups are Other White (5.5%), Pakistani (1.4%) and Mixed or multiple (1%). Nearly nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British, a lower share than in 68% of UK towns. Set beside that, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns.
More adults who have never married than 67% of UK towns: 35%
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 1,470 residents. Across the comparison, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are common here: 11%, more than in 91% of UK towns. Where 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns, Dunfermline has 47%.
Among adults, 34% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 32% across Scotland’s towns, 34% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 13% hold no qualification (17%).
54th oldest of 127 UK towns of 39,000 to 76,000 people
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 Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Lytham St Anne's (54.4), the oldest. Nearest to Dunfermline in age: Wrexham (41.2), Folkestone (41.3), Beeston (41.4) and Trowbridge (41.4).
The towns around Dunfermline are all older
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunfermline | 56,053 | — | 41.3 | 17% | 28% |
| Rosyth | 13,309 | 2.3 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 27% |
| Crossgates | 2,993 | 2.6 mi | 45 | 20% | 27% |
| Inverkeithing | 5,273 | 3 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 23% |
| Dalgety Bay and Hillend | 9,452 | 3.7 mi | 50.4 | 27% | 24% |
| Cairneyhill | 2,657 | 3.9 mi | 45.2 | 23% | 27% |
| Cowdenbeath and Lumphinnans | 11,979 | 4.1 mi | 43.3 | 20% | 25% |
| Kelty | 6,898 | 5 mi | 43.1 | 20% | 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 Dunfermline’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 Dunfermline’s residents
What is the population of Dunfermline?
The 2022 Census counted 56,053 people in Dunfermline’s locality.
What is the average age in Dunfermline?
The median age was 41.3 at the 2022 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dunfermline?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Fife’s towns. 8.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dunfermline?
62% said they had no religion and 30% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.7% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Dunfermline good for families?
28% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Dunfermline’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.