Photo: John Lucas · CC BY-SA 2.0Residents with no religion: 56%, a higher share than 98% of UK towns
The average household has 2.1 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. For Tain, the census puts households without a car or van at 23%. The town has more households in flats than 67% of UK towns, at 14%. At the 2022 Census Tain was home to 3,544 people in 1,691 households.
Tain sits above 63% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (24%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The largest age band is 50–54: 7.6% of residents. For comparison, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns. Fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than in 60% of UK towns: 9.5%. In Nairn, the oldest of Highland’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Tain, 44.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students: 4.1%, a lower share than 81% of UK towns
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; Tain has 27% and 33%. By way of comparison, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
1.7% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 86% 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.
Against a figure of 38% across Scotland’s towns, the share of one-person households in Tain comes in at 39%. Set beside that, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Scotland’s towns. Locally, a quarter of households have dependent children.
More detached houses than 61% of UK towns: 33% 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
The share of households in terraced houses stands at 19%. 14% of households live in a flat, more than in 67% of UK towns; 33% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 5%, a lower share than 65% 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (2.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.7%). Residents born outside the UK make up 11% across Scotland’s towns. Higher than in 51% of UK towns: 98% of residents have English as their main language. Since 2017: 16% of those born abroad, against 34% across Scotland’s towns.
Tain sits below 96% of UK towns for residents who describe themselves as Christian (37%)
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: 95% of Tain · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Beyond White British, the biggest groups are Other White (3.3%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Indian (0.4%). 95% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 77% of UK towns. Typically, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns.
Married adults and civil partners make up 46% in Tain, less than in 64% 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
Just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, against 12% across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership. The share of adults who have never married stands at 33%.
Among adults, 23% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Tain’s adults: 23% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 32% and 17% across Scotland’s towns.
750 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000 people: this is the 257th youngest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to Tain in age: Chudleigh (44.8), Cwm (44.8), Earby (44.9) and Pilsley and Lower Pilsley (44.9).
No nearby town is as old as Tain
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tain | 3,544 | — | 44.8 | 24% | 25% |
| Invergordon | 3,801 | 9.2 mi | 44.3 | 21% | 23% |
| Alness | 5,940 | 10.5 mi | 40.8 | 20% | 29% |
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 Tain’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 Tain’s residents
What is the population of Tain?
The 2022 Census counted 3,544 people in Tain’s locality.
What is the average age in Tain?
The median age was 44.8 at the 2022 Census, older than 52% of UK towns. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tain?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tain?
56% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Tain good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Tain’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.