Photo: Rosser1954 · CC BY-SA 4.0More people live alone than in 99% of UK towns: 41% of households
Across Scotland’s towns, 12% of residents give unpaid care; in Dalry, 14%. At the 2022 Census Dalry was home to 5,274 people in 2,552 households. Residents who describe themselves as White British account for 96%. Lower than in 69% of UK towns: 22% of households live in a detached house.
Dalry is older than 67% of UK towns: a median age of 46.7
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Residents aged 65 and over make up 22%, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. In Dalry, 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Dalry, 46.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
6.5% of adults are full-time students, more than in 89% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
27% of Dalry’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Against that, 9.4% of 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.
Smaller households than 94% of UK towns: 2.1 people on average
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.
With shared households of unrelated adults at 1.9%, Dalry is behind 73% of UK towns on that count. In Dalry, just over a fifth of households have dependent children.
Dalry sits above 85% of UK towns for households in flats (21%)
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
Against a figure of 29% across Scotland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van in Dalry comes in at 28%. Across Scotland’s towns, 39% of households live in a flat or apartment. Households in terraced houses are more common here than in nearly four fifths of UK towns.
Only 2.7% of Dalry’s 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
The share of residents whose main language is English is 99%, against 94% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, 11% of residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%).
A smaller share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 85% of UK towns: 43%
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 Dalry · North Ayrshire’s towns 96% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Half of residents said they have no religion; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 51%. Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (1.5%), Mixed or multiple (0.5%) and Arab (0.4%). By way of comparison, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns.
Dalry sits above 71% of UK towns for adults who have never married (36%)
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
Married adults and civil partners: 43%, below 79% of UK towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 40%. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 175.
21% of adults have qualifications at degree level
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 Dalry, 22%, while 21% hold one at degree level (32%). A levels top the qualifications of 9.9%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
Of 517 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 230th oldest
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 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Dalry in age: Backwell (46.7), Bramley and Wonersh (46.7), Blackrod (46.8) and Holmfirth (46.8).
Dalry sits below 3 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dalry | 5,274 | — | 46.7 | 22% | 22% |
| Kilbirnie | 7,110 | 3.5 mi | 44.6 | 19% | 23% |
| Kilwinning | 16,224 | 3.6 mi | 44.3 | 20% | 26% |
| Beith | 5,773 | 4.5 mi | 49.3 | 24% | 22% |
| Stevenston | 8,658 | 4.7 mi | 44.5 | 21% | 24% |
| Saltcoats | 12,171 | 5 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 25% |
| Ardrossan | 10,338 | 5.2 mi | 47.5 | 23% | 21% |
| West Kilbride | 4,876 | 5.3 mi | 53.2 | 31% | 20% |
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.
- “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 Dalry’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 Dalry’s residents
What is the population of Dalry?
The 2022 Census counted 5,274 people in Dalry’s locality.
What is the average age in Dalry?
The median age was 46.7 at the 2022 Census, older than 67% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Dalry?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 96% across North Ayrshire’s towns. 2.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Dalry?
50% said they had no religion and 43% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Dalry good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Dalry’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.