Photo: Dave souza · CC BY-SA 2.5Gourock ranks below 97% of UK towns on households with dependent children: 18%
51% of households live in a flat or apartment (Scotland’s towns: 39%). The 2022 Census put Gourock’s population at 10,072, in 5,088 households. In Gourock, just over three in five residents describe themselves as Christian. On unpaid carers, Gourock sits higher than 99% of UK towns: 14%.
What the Census says about Gourock’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Gourock’s residents are under 52 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% 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).
Gourock is older than 92% of UK towns: a median age of 52
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Young people aged 15 to 24 make up 8.9% of residents, against 12% across Scotland’s towns. Here, 27% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Gourock, 52. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
In Gourock, 5.6% of adults are full-time students, more than in 77% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Just over two fifths of Gourock’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 20% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Set beside that, nearly one in ten adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Gourock households average 2 people, smaller than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Inverclyde’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Compared with 38% across Scotland’s towns, two in five households are one person living alone here. Lower than in 98% of UK towns: 1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
8.4% of households live in a terraced house, below 93% 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
In Gourock, 20% of households live in a detached house, beside 18% across Scotland’s towns. On average, 19% of households live in a terraced house across Scotland’s towns. Here, nearly a quarter of households have no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK make up 3% in Gourock, less than in 90% 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
94% of residents have English as their main language across Scotland’s towns, against 99% in Gourock. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 11%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.2%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%).
Above 93% of UK towns: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British
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: 97% of Gourock · Inverclyde’s towns 96% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
51% of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns, against 34% in Gourock. The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (1.7%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Indian (0.2%). To put it in context, 86% of residents describe themselves as White British across Scotland’s towns.
49% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 55% of UK towns don’t reach
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
317 people care, unpaid, for 50 hours or more a week. Set beside that, 42% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 40%; Gourock has 32%.
A degree-level qualification for 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 17% of adults have no qualification; in Gourock, 15%, while 34% hold one at degree level (32%).
Ranked by age, 31st oldest of 456 UK towns this size
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Stoke Gifford is the youngest (27.8); Seaton the oldest (61). Nearest to Gourock in age: Swaffham (51.9), Dawlish (52), New Milton (52.1) and Ludlow (52.2).
A younger town than 1 of the 7 around it: Gourock
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gourock | 10,072 | — | 52 | 27% | 18% |
| Greenock | 42,870 | 2.1 mi | 45.5 | 21% | 23% |
| Inverkip | 3,542 | 3.5 mi | 46.1 | 17% | 30% |
| Dunoon | 7,982 | 3.8 mi | 51.7 | 29% | 19% |
| Helensburgh | 14,128 | 5.4 mi | 48.4 | 25% | 22% |
| Port Glasgow | 14,260 | 6.3 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 24% |
| Kilmacolm | 3,876 | 8.7 mi | 53.3 | 31% | 23% |
| Alexandria | 6,260 | 9.8 mi | 50 | 25% | 19% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in term time. 20 March 2022 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Inverclyde’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Inverclyde (or Scotland), summed the same way as Gourock’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 Gourock’s residents
What is the population of Gourock?
The 2022 Census counted 10,072 people in Gourock’s locality.
What is the average age in Gourock?
The median age was 52 at the 2022 Census, older than 92% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gourock?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 96% across Inverclyde’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gourock?
34% said they had no religion and 61% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.1% didn’t answer.
Is Gourock good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Gourock’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.