Photo: Peter S · CC BY-SA 2.0Fort William sits above 99% of UK towns for one-person households (43%)
With a median age of 41, Fort William is younger than three quarters of UK towns. Census day 2021: 5,766 residents and 2,765 households in the town. Across Fort William, 36% of households live in a flat or apartment. 44% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, against 40% across Scotland’s towns.
What the Census says about Fort William’s people
More born abroad than anywhere else in Highland
13% of residents were born outside the UK, against 8.6% across Highland’s towns and 11% across Scotland’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (9.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.6%). Where people were born ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Fort William ranks above 96% of UK towns on residents aged 15 to 24: 15%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
More residents are 20–24 than any other five-year age: 8.3% of residents. Compared with other places, residents aged 65 and over are scarce here: 18%, fewer than in 77% of UK towns. In Nairn, the oldest of Highland’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Fort William, 41. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 95% of UK towns: 9%
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 23% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 35% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). The comparison figure for full-time students is 9.4% 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 people, below 98% of UK towns
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.
Households with dependent children: 23% here and 24% across Scotland’s towns. In Fort William, 3.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
More car-free households than 93% of UK towns: 28% in Fort William
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
On households in detached houses, 18% here is much the same as across Scotland’s towns. One household in 4 has no car or van, the 2nd highest share in Highland. Households in terraced houses: nearly a quarter of the total.
Fort William: 13% 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 20%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Of residents born abroad, 24% arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns. As a reference point, 11% of residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. 92% of residents have English as their main language.
No religion: 51% of residents, a higher share than 95% 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: 86% of Fort William · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (11%), Mixed or multiple (0.9%) and Indian (0.4%). Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 92% of UK towns. 86% of residents describe themselves as White British, about the same as across Scotland’s towns.
Only 36% of adults are married or in a civil partnership in Fort William
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 figure for unpaid carers is 11% in Fort William and 12% across Scotland’s towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across Scotland’s towns: 42%. 133 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 24%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Fort William counts 24% of its adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; at the other end, 20% have no qualification (17%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why Highers are the highest qualification of 12%.
Among 625 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, the 120th youngest
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 Fort William in age: Abercarn (40.8), Shotton (40.9), Warton (Fylde) (41.2) and Elworth (41.3).
The places around Fort William
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fort William | 5,766 | — | 41 | 18% | 23% |
| Caol | 3,200 | 1.5 mi | 44.8 | 21% | 25% |
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.
- “Highland’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Highland (or Scotland), summed the same way as Fort William’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 Fort William’s residents
What is the population of Fort William?
The 2022 Census counted 5,766 people in Fort William’s locality.
What is the average age in Fort William?
The median age was 41 at the 2022 Census, younger than 75% of UK towns. 15% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Fort William?
86% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 13% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Fort William?
51% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Fort William good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Fort William’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.