Photo: Richard Law · CC BY-SA 2.0One-person households make up 42% in Methil, more than in 99% of UK towns
Set against 18% across Scotland’s towns, 7.2% of households live in a detached house in Methil. 10,712 residents in 5,137 households: that is Methil at the 2022 Census. For Methil, the census puts households without a car or van at 33%. Adults who have never married are more common here than in 95% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Methil’s people
More with no religion than most
68% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 24% 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).
A median age of 40.9: Methil is younger than 76% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
More residents are 20–24 than any other five-year age: 7.7% of residents. On residents aged 65 and over, Methil sits lower than 69% of UK towns: 19%. 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+
■ Methil, 40.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Methil: 7.5% of adults are full-time students, above 93% 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 15% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 41% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Full-time students: 9.4% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Methil households average 2.1 people, smaller than in 96% 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.
Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children (Scotland’s towns: 24%). Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.9% of the total.
Methil ranks above 98% of UK towns on households in flats: 38%
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
Households in terraced houses: 23% here and 19% across Scotland’s towns. Typically, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 4.7% in Methil, less than in 67% of UK towns
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
Where 34% of those born abroad across Scotland’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 26%. Residents born outside the UK make up 11% across Scotland’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2.1%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Methil has fewer residents whose main language is English than 52% of UK towns, at 98%.
Residents with no religion make up 68% in Methil, more 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: 94% of Methil · Fife’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
1.1% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 24%, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Across Scotland’s towns, 51% of residents said they have no religion. Residents who describe themselves as White British: 94% here and 86% across Scotland’s towns.
A lower share of married adults and civil partners than 98% of UK towns, at 34%
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
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of unpaid carers is 12%; Methil has 14%. The share of married adults and civil partners across Scotland’s towns is 42%. Unpaid care takes 50 hours a week or more for 505 people.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 12% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
12% of Methil’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 28% have none (17%). Many of the 9.5% whose highest qualification is Highers are students working towards a degree.
92nd youngest of 456 UK towns of 7,000 to 14,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 27.8 in Stoke Gifford to 61 in Seaton. Nearest to Methil in age: Whitnash (40.9), Hook (40.9), Mossley (41) and East Leake (41).
Every neighbour of Methil has an older population
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Methil | 10,712 | — | 40.9 | 19% | 23% |
| Buckhaven | 4,413 | 1 mi | 44.4 | 22% | 23% |
| Leven | 10,088 | 1.1 mi | 44 | 22% | 23% |
| Kennoway | 4,665 | 1.9 mi | 45.6 | 22% | 25% |
| Glenrothes | 37,466 | 5.9 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 25% |
| Kirkcaldy and Dysart | 51,135 | 7.1 mi | 43.9 | 21% | 24% |
| Leslie | 2,888 | 7.4 mi | 47.1 | 23% | 23% |
| Cupar | 8,835 | 9 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 21% |
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 Methil’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 Methil’s residents
What is the population of Methil?
The 2022 Census counted 10,712 people in Methil’s locality.
What is the average age in Methil?
The median age was 40.9 at the 2022 Census, younger than 76% of UK towns. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Methil?
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 Methil?
68% said they had no religion and 24% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Methil good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Methil’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.