Photo: Vanhercke Christiaan · CC BY-SA 2.0Only 16% of households in Stornoway have dependent children
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 29%; Stornoway has 32%. At the 2022 Census Stornoway was home to 4,577 people in 2,490 households. 31% of residents said they have no religion. Compared with other places, one-person households are common here: 53%, more than in 99% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Stornoway’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Stornoway’s residents are under 50.7 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).
Stornoway is older than 88% of UK towns: a median age of 50.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
28% of residents are 65 or over (Scotland’s towns: 19%). Here, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Stornoway, 50.7. 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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Below 73% of UK towns: 4.3% of adults are full-time students
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 30% of Stornoway’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 33%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Full-time students make up 9.4% across Scotland’s towns.
1.8 people per household, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Na h-Eileanan Siar’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 1.7%, Stornoway is behind 87% of UK towns on that count.
Above 90% of UK towns: 24% of households live in a flat or apartment
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
Set against 18% across Scotland’s towns, nearly a quarter of households live in a detached house in Stornoway. For households in flats, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 39%. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in 60% of UK towns.
Below 61% of UK towns: 5.3% of residents were born outside the UK
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
Of residents born abroad, 27% arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns. Measured more widely, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Residents whose main language is English account for 97%.
63% of residents describe themselves as Christian, more than in 97% 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: 94% of Stornoway · Na h-Eileanan Siar’s towns 94% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
With residents who describe themselves as White British at 94%, Stornoway is ahead of 65% of UK towns on that count. On average, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Indian (0.5%).
A smaller share of married adults and civil partners than 94% of UK towns: 39%
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
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 12%, from the figure across Scotland’s towns. Married adults and civil partners make up 42% across Scotland’s towns. On the census count, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
28% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 32% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Stornoway, 28%, and 20% have none, against 17%.
Of 696 UK towns its size (3,000 to 6,000 people), the 128th oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe (64.7). Nearest to Stornoway in age: Alderley Edge (50.7), Pulborough (50.7), Tenbury Wells (50.8) and Martock (50.8).
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Na h-Eileanan Siar’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Na h-Eileanan Siar (or Scotland), summed the same way as Stornoway’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 Stornoway’s residents
What is the population of Stornoway?
The 2022 Census counted 4,577 people in Stornoway’s locality.
What is the average age in Stornoway?
The median age was 50.7 at the 2022 Census, older than 88% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 28% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Stornoway?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 94% across Na h-Eileanan Siar’s towns. 5.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Stornoway?
31% said they had no religion and 63% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.8% were Muslim and 4.4% didn’t answer.
Is Stornoway good for families?
16% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Stornoway’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.