Photo: Lewis Clarke · CC BY-SA 2.0

52Median age

Who lives here · Scotland’s Census 2022

A median age of 52: Nairn is older than 92% of UK towns

Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 36%, below 97% of UK towns. Census day 2021: 9,576 residents and 4,658 households in Nairn. In Nairn, just over one in ten households live in a terraced house. Higher than in 78% of UK towns: 21% of households have no car or van.

28%aged 65 or over 5.7%born abroad 4,658households

What stands out · In brief

What the Census says about Nairn’s people

52median age, older than 92% of UK towns, the oldest of Highland’s 16 towns of 2,500+

Older than most towns

Half of Nairn’s residents are under 52 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 28% are 65 or over, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. Ages ↓

Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).

Ages

A smaller share of residents aged 15 to 24 than 93% of UK towns: 8%

Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.

NairnScotland’s towns

0–410–1420–2430–3440–4450–5460–6470–7480–84

The largest age band is 55–59: 8.5% of residents. The wider picture: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Scotland’s towns. 28% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 86% of UK towns.

Median age of UK towns of 2,500+

2535455565

■ Nairn, 52. The typical town is 44.4.

Broad ages · share of residents

Under 1513%

15 to 248%

25 to 4419%

45 to 6430%

65 and over28%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

Women and men · all residents

52% women, 48% men

Nairn

Scotland

WomenMen

About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.

Students & newcomers

Full-time students: 3.8%, a lower share than 90% of UK towns

What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).

Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over

Full-time students3.8%

Higher managerial and professional12%

Lower managerial and professional22%

Intermediate12%

Small employers and self-employed8.8%

Supervisory and technical8.4%

Semi-routine13%

Routine14%

Never worked or long-term unemployed6.4%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

Across Scotland’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine work; in Nairn, 34% and 27%. Elsewhere, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.

Households

Below 96% of UK towns: 19% of households have dependent children

Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.

Living alone, 66+ 19%Living alone, under 66 20%Families with dependent children 19%Couples and families, no young children 39%Shared houses and other 2.2%

Against Highland’s towns and Scotland’s towns

Nairn

Highland’s towns

Scotland’s towns

People per household

1 person39%

2 people36%

3 people13%

4 people9.2%

5 or more3.3%

Scotland’s towns.

Across Scotland’s towns, the share of one-person households is 38%; Nairn has 39%. The usual figure: 24% of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns. Average household size: 2 people.

Homes & cars

In Nairn, 39% of households live in a detached house, more than in 74% of UK towns

Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2022. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.

Type of home

Nairn

Highland’s towns

Scotland’s towns

DetachedSemi-detachedTerracedFlat or maisonetteCaravan or other

Cars or vans · share of households

No car or van21%

One47%

Two24%

Three or more7.3%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

15% of households live in a flat or apartment; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 39%. On average, 18% of households live in a detached house across Scotland’s towns.

Where people were born

Nairn sits above 70% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)

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%

Nairn

5.7%

Highland’s towns

8.5%

Scotland’s towns

11%

EU countriesRest of EuropeMiddle East and AsiaAfricaAmericas, Oceania, other

When those born abroad arrived

NairnScotland’s towns

Before 19711971–801981–901991–20002001–102011–132014–162017–192020–21

Main language · residents aged 3 and over

English is main language99%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

Across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 11%; Nairn has 5.7%. For comparison, 94% of residents have English as their main language across Scotland’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.6%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.3%).

Ethnicity & religion

Nairn ranks above 98% of UK towns on residents with no religion: 55%

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

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

Other White3.1%

Asian1%

Mixed0.8%

Black0.2%

Other0.2%

0%4%8%

White British, not charted: 95% of Nairn · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.

Religion · all residents

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

No religion55%

Christian36%

Muslim0.2%

Hindu, Sikh, Jewish, Buddhist0.5%

Other religion0.9%

Didn’t answer6.6%

0%35%70%

Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (3.1%), Mixed or multiple (0.8%) and Indian (0.2%). 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 75% of UK towns. The usual figure: 51% of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns.

Relationships & caring

A smaller share of adults who have never married than 67% of UK towns: 30%

Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 3 and over), Census 2022.

Partnership status · residents 16 and over

Never married or in a civil partnership30%

Married or civil partnership48%

Separated2.2%

Divorced11%

Widowed9.6%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

1,079residents give unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age: 12%, against 12% in Scotland’s towns

Unpaid care given · share of residents 3 and over

Up to 19 hours a week6.2%

20 to 49 hours2.1%

50 hours or more3.3%

On unpaid carers, 12% here is much the same as across Scotland’s towns. Adults who have never married: 40% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. 307 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week.

Qualifications

Degree-level qualifications reach 30% of adults

Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.

Highest qualification · residents 16 and over

No qualifications17%

Apprenticeship8.9%

Highers or similar12%

Degree level30%

NairnHighland’s townsScotland’s towns

In Nairn, 30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns, while 17% have no qualification at all (17%).

Towns its size

29th oldest of 414 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people

Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.

Nairn 52

TidworthSeatonWallingford

274562

At the ends of the range sit Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Seaton (61), the oldest. Nearest to Nairn in age: Swaffham (51.9), Dawlish (52), New Milton (52.1) and Ludlow (52.2).

Neighbours

Nairn is older than every town around it

Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.

ForresCullodenNairn

under 3838–4444–5050–5656+

Town	People	Away	Median age	65+	Homes with children
Nairn	9,576	—	52	28%	19%
Forres	9,290	9.5 mi	50.5	27%	20%
Culloden	3,699	11.9 mi	44.8	20%	22%

More about Nairn’s residents

Health, work and homes have their own pages

Health C⁻Life expectancy, early deaths and Census health, adjusted for age Work & commuteIncome, the claimant count, jobs and how people get to work Cost of living AOwners and renters, prices, rents and council tax Schools CEvery primary and secondary, with results and inspections

How to read these numbers

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 Nairn’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 Nairn’s residents

What is the population of Nairn?

The 2022 Census counted 9,576 people in Nairn’s locality.

What is the average age in Nairn?

The median age was 52 at the 2022 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.

How diverse is Nairn?

95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 5.7% were born outside the UK.

What religion are people in Nairn?

55% said they had no religion and 36% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.

Is Nairn good for families?

19% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Nairn’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.