Photo: valenta · CC BY-SA 2.042% of households are one person living alone, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Where nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns, Inverness has 29%. 37% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 96% of UK towns. There were 23,813 households locally at the 2022 Census, home to 48,257 residents. Across Inverness, 27% of households have no car or van.
Inverness is younger than 62% of UK towns: a median age of 43
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Where nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns, Inverness has 20%. The largest age band is 55–59: 7.5% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Inverness, 43. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Inverness sits below 57% of UK towns for full-time students (4.7%)
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 a third of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 28% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Across Scotland’s towns, full-time students come to 9.4%.
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.
Compared with 24% across Scotland’s towns, 23% of households have dependent children here. Higher than in 73% of UK towns: 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Fewer detached houses than 66% of UK towns: 23% of households
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
In Inverness, 17% of households live in a terraced house, beside 19% across Scotland’s towns. Elsewhere, 18% of households live in a detached house across Scotland’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 11% in Inverness, more than in 77% 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
The largest groups were born in EU countries (6.9%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.9%). Residents whose main language is English are rarer here than in just over four fifths of UK towns. 18% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns.
Inverness: 55% of residents said they have no religion, above 98% 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: 87% of Inverness · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British is 87%, against 86% across Scotland’s towns. Measured more widely, 51% of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (8.1%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Indian (0.6%).
A lower share of married adults and civil partners than 90% of UK towns, at 40%
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
Here 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 40%. As a reference point, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. The share of unpaid carers stands at 11%.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 31% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
31% of Inverness’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 17% have none (17%).
42nd oldest of 146 UK towns of 34,000 to 65,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Canterbury is the youngest (27.5); Lytham St Anne's the oldest (54.4). Nearest to Inverness in age: Denton (43), West Molesey (43), Carlton (43.1) and Hinckley (43.1).
A younger town than 4 of the 6 around it: Inverness
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inverness | 48,257 | — | 43 | 20% | 23% |
| Milton of Leys | 3,168 | 2.1 mi | 33.7 | 7.3% | 37% |
| Westhill | 5,681 | 2.6 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 27% |
| Smithton | 2,905 | 2.9 mi | 35.1 | 12% | 29% |
| Culloden | 3,699 | 3.6 mi | 44.8 | 20% | 22% |
| Muir of Ord | 2,832 | 9.3 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 26% |
| Dingwall | 5,274 | 12 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 22% |
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 Inverness’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 Inverness’s residents
What is the population of Inverness?
The 2022 Census counted 48,257 people in Inverness’s locality.
What is the average age in Inverness?
The median age was 43 at the 2022 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 9.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Inverness?
87% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 11% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Inverness?
55% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Inverness good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Inverness’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.