Photo: Chris Heaton · CC BY-SA 2.0More people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 42% of households
22% of households have dependent children, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Dingwall’s 2,574 households held 5,274 residents at the 2022 Census. Households in flats account for 23%. At 37%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in just over three quarters of UK towns.
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 60% of UK towns: 23%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Set against 12% across Scotland’s towns, one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Dingwall. To put it in context, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns. The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 7.9% of residents. Half of the town’s residents are over 45.5, older than in 58% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dingwall, 45.5. 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.
Only 4.5% of adults are full-time students in Dingwall
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
By class, 28% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). On average, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
Smaller households than 97% of UK towns: 2 people on average
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Highland’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home (Scotland’s towns: 3.5%).
Households without a car or van: 23%, a higher share than 82% 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
Households in detached houses: 30% here and 18% across Scotland’s towns. Set beside that, 29% of households have no car or van across Scotland’s towns. Here, 21% of households live in a terraced house.
9.4% of residents were born outside the UK, a share 72% of UK towns don’t reach
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 (4.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (2.5%). As a reference point, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in 80% of UK towns. Arrivals from 2017 on account for 18% of residents born abroad, beside 34% across Scotland’s towns.
A lower White British share than 67% of UK towns: 89% of residents
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 Dingwall · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns, against 40% in Dingwall. On average, 86% of residents describe themselves as White British across Scotland’s towns. The census found that half of residents said they have no religion locally.
Dingwall sits above 83% of UK towns for unpaid carers (11%)
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
Nothing unusual on married adults and civil partners: 42%, close to the figure across Scotland’s towns. The usual figure: just over one in ten residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns. For 141 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Qualified to degree level: 25% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 32% across Scotland’s towns, 25% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 19% hold no qualification (17%).
239th lowest median age among 517 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000
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 Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Dingwall in age: Telscombe Cliffs (45.5), Tumble (45.5), Egremont (45.6) and Crigglestone and Durkar (45.6).
Every neighbour of Dingwall has a younger population
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dingwall | 5,274 | — | 45.5 | 23% | 22% |
| Muir of Ord | 2,832 | 6.1 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 26% |
| Alness | 5,940 | 9.3 mi | 40.8 | 20% | 29% |
| Invergordon | 3,801 | 11.3 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 23% |
| Inverness | 48,257 | 12 mi | 43 | 20% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Highland’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Highland (or Scotland), summed the same way as Dingwall’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 Dingwall’s residents
What is the population of Dingwall?
The 2022 Census counted 5,274 people in Dingwall’s locality.
What is the average age in Dingwall?
The median age was 45.5 at the 2022 Census, older than 58% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dingwall?
89% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 9.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dingwall?
50% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.4% were Muslim and 7.6% didn’t answer.
Is Dingwall good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Dingwall’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.