Photo: don cload · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Smithton is under 35.1, younger than 96% of UK towns
Against a figure of 40% across Scotland’s towns, the share of adults who have never married in Smithton comes in at 44%. This Highland town counted 2,905 residents and 1,342 households at the 2022 Census. The share of households in flats stands at 26%. Residents with no religion are more common here than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Smithton’s people
Younger than most towns
Half of Smithton’s residents are under 35.1 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 11% are 15 to 24 and 12% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 95% of UK towns: 12%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 11%, against 12% across Scotland’s towns. The usual figure: 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Smithton, 35.1. 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.
5% of adults are full-time students, a share 57% of UK towns don’t reach
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine or semi-routine work; Smithton has 29% and 31%. As a yardstick, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
Above 85% of UK towns: 35% of households are one person living alone
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.
The average household has 2.2 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. Smithton has more households with dependent children than 64% of UK towns, at 29%. As a reference point, 38% of households are one person living alone across Scotland’s towns.
20% of households have no car or van, more than in 73% 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
Compared with 19% across Scotland’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a terraced house here. The benchmark for households without a car or van across Scotland’s towns: 29%. The share of households in detached houses stands at 18%.
A larger share of residents born outside the UK than 79% of UK towns: 11%
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
There is little gap on residents whose main language is English: 94%, about the same as across Scotland’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (6.6%), then in the Middle East and Asia (2.7%).
Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 99% of UK towns: 32%
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 Smithton · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 87% here and 86% across Scotland’s towns. By way of comparison, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (7.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (1.2%).
39% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 94% of UK towns
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
Smithton has more unpaid carers than half of UK towns, at 9.4%. The usual figure: just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns.
Among adults, 26% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
26% of Smithton’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 15% have none (17%).
17th youngest of 515 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); West Chiltington the oldest (63.1). Nearest to Smithton in age: Ambrosden (33.6), Longford (33.7), Hertford Heath (35.3) and Whyteleafe (35.3).
Older than Smithton: 4 of the 5 towns nearby
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smithton | 2,905 | — | 35.1 | 12% | 29% |
| Westhill | 5,681 | 0.6 mi | 44.6 | 22% | 27% |
| Culloden | 3,699 | 0.8 mi | 44.8 | 20% | 22% |
| Milton of Leys | 3,168 | 2.2 mi | 33.7 | 7.3% | 37% |
| Inverness | 48,257 | 2.9 mi | 43 | 20% | 23% |
| Muir of Ord | 2,832 | 11.7 mi | 43.2 | 21% | 26% |
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 Smithton’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 Smithton’s residents
What is the population of Smithton?
The 2022 Census counted 2,905 people in Smithton’s locality.
What is the average age in Smithton?
The median age was 35.1 at the 2022 Census, younger than 96% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 12% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Smithton?
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 Smithton?
60% said they had no religion and 32% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.7% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Smithton good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Smithton’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.