Photo: Malc McDonald · CC BY-SA 2.0Thurso: 45% of households are one person living alone, above 99% of UK towns
At 1.9 people, the average household compares with 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. By contrast, just over a quarter of households have no car or van, more than in 89% of UK towns. Thurso had 7,419 residents and 3,782 households at the 2022 Census, with a median age of 45.9 (older than 61% of UK towns). Locally, 96% of residents describe themselves as White British.
What the Census says about Thurso’s people
More with no religion than most
61% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 32% Christian, against 51% and 39% across Scotland’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
A median age of 45.9: Thurso is older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7.7% of residents. Thurso has fewer residents aged 15 to 24 than 63% of UK towns, at 9.4%. Meanwhile, by its share of residents aged 65 and over (23%), Thurso is above 60% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Thurso, 45.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
3.8% of adults are full-time students, fewer than in 90% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Managerial and professional jobs account for 31% of Thurso’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 30%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of full-time students is 9.4%.
Households with dependent children make up 20% in Thurso, less than in 94% 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.
In Thurso, 1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, beside 3.5% across Scotland’s towns. To put it in context, 24% of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns.
In Thurso, 26% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 71% 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
Households in flats make up 14%, against 39% across Scotland’s towns. The share of households in terraced houses across Scotland’s towns is 19%. Across Thurso, 18% of households live in a detached house.
Thurso sits below 76% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (4.1%)
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
Where just over a third of those born abroad across Scotland’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 18%. Residents born outside the UK make up 11% across Scotland’s towns. Locally, 98% of residents have English as their main language.
61% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 99% 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: 96% of Thurso · Highland’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Indian (0.3%). The wider picture: just over half of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. Few places have so few residents who describe themselves as Christian: 32% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns.
37% of adults have never married, more than in 76% 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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 197 residents. As a reference point, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Few places have as many unpaid carers: 12% here, more than in 96% of UK towns. At 42%, married adults and civil partners sit close to the figure across Scotland’s towns.
A degree-level qualification for 22% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
22% of Thurso’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 19% have none (17%).
238th oldest of 539 UK towns of 5,000 to 10,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.9 in Red Lodge to 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Thurso in age: Hungerford (45.9), Undy and Magor (45.9), Carnforth (46) and Drighlington (46).
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 Thurso’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 Thurso’s residents
What is the population of Thurso?
The 2022 Census counted 7,419 people in Thurso’s locality.
What is the average age in Thurso?
The median age was 45.9 at the 2022 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 9.4% of residents were 15 to 24 and 23% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Thurso?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Highland’s towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Thurso?
61% said they had no religion and 32% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.3% didn’t answer.
Is Thurso good for families?
20% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Thurso’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.