Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher White British share than 95% of UK towns: 97% of residents
Half of Beith’s residents are over 49.3, older than in just over four in five UK towns. The share of households without a car or van stands at 23%. The 2022 Census put the town’s population at 5,773, in 2,783 households. A household here has 2.1 people on average; across Scotland’s towns, 2.1.
In Beith, 24% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 64% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents. Set beside that, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns. In Largs, the oldest of North Ayrshire’s towns by this measure, it is 36%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Beith, 49.3. 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.
4.9% of adults are full-time students, more than in 56% 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 30% of Beith’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 28%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
A lower share of households with dependent children than 91% of UK towns, at 22%
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Ayrshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 3.5%. Against that, nearly a quarter of households have dependent children across Scotland’s towns. Across Beith, 37% of households are one person living alone.
In Beith, 28% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 79% 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 Beith, 15% of households live in a flat or apartment, beside 39% across Scotland’s towns. Lower than in three fifths of UK towns: 25% of households live in a detached house. Measured more widely, 19% of households live in a terraced house across Scotland’s towns.
Residents born outside the UK make up 2.9% in Beith, less than in 93% 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 figure for residents whose main language is English is 99% in Beith and 94% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.6%).
Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 41%, a lower share than 91% 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: 97% of Beith · North Ayrshire’s towns 96% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Here 52% of residents said they have no religion, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 51%. The usual figure: nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and African (0.1%).
44% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer 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
Across Scotland’s towns, the share of adults who have never married is 40%; Beith has 33%. As a yardstick, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Unpaid carers: 13% of the total.
Among adults, 25% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
25% of Beith’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 20% have none (17%).
Of 625 UK towns its size (4,000 to 8,000 people), the 149th oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
At the ends of the range sit Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Beith in age: Highworth (49.3), Lightwater (49.3), Tadcaster (49.4) and Ellesmere (49.4).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 2 are older than Beith
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beith | 5,773 | — | 49.3 | 24% | 22% |
| Kilbirnie | 7,110 | 2.1 mi | 44.6 | 19% | 23% |
| Lochwinnoch | 2,769 | 3.3 mi | 50.8 | 25% | 22% |
| Dalry | 5,274 | 4.5 mi | 46.7 | 22% | 22% |
| Stewarton | 7,870 | 6.6 mi | 43 | 20% | 29% |
| Kilbarchan | 3,367 | 6.7 mi | 51.6 | 28% | 19% |
| Kilwinning | 16,224 | 7.1 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 26% |
| Johnstone | 16,477 | 7.2 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “North Ayrshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in North Ayrshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Beith’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 Beith’s residents
What is the population of Beith?
The 2022 Census counted 5,773 people in Beith’s locality.
What is the average age in Beith?
The median age was 49.3 at the 2022 Census, older than 82% of UK towns. 9.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Beith?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 96% across North Ayrshire’s towns. 2.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Beith?
52% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Beith good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Beith’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.