Photo: Jonathan Thacker · CC BY-SA 2.033% of households live in a flat or apartment, a share 97% of UK towns don’t reach
The share of adults who have never married is 37%, against 40% across Scotland’s towns. Airdrie’s 16,048 households held 35,847 residents at the 2022 Census. Just over a third of households are one person living alone. More residents who describe themselves as Christian than in 87% of UK towns: 57%.
Younger than 62% of UK towns: half of Airdrie is under 43
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Residents aged 15 to 24 are about as common here as across Scotland’s towns, at 12%. Across Airdrie, nearly a fifth of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Airdrie, 43. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 93 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
6.5% of adults are full-time students, a share 88% of UK towns don’t reach
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
By class, 27% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 30% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). 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.
Airdrie households average 2.2 people, smaller than in 69% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against North Lanarkshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Scotland’s towns, against 2.1% in Airdrie. Locally, just over a quarter of households have dependent children.
Above 91% of UK towns: 27% of households have no car or van
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 detached houses: 17% here and 18% across Scotland’s towns. By way of comparison, 29% of households have no car or van across Scotland’s towns. The census found that 22% of households live in a terraced house in Airdrie.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 64% of UK towns: 5%
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 20%. The comparison figure for residents born outside the UK is 11% across Scotland’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (2.8%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
A smaller share of residents with no religion than 79% of UK towns: 36%
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: 93% of Airdrie · North Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
93% of residents describe themselves as White British (Scotland’s towns: 86%). Measured more widely, just over half of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.7%), Pakistani (0.9%) and Mixed or multiple (0.6%).
Airdrie sits above 99% of UK towns for unpaid carers (14%)
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
The figure for married adults and civil partners is 44% in Airdrie and 42% across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, unpaid carers come to 12%. For 1,396 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
22% 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 Airdrie, 23%, while 22% hold one at degree level (32%). A levels top the qualifications of 9.9%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
63rd highest median age among 193 UK towns of 25,000 to 48,000
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Hatfield (30.3) and the oldest Rustington (56.2). Nearest to Airdrie in age: West Molesey (43), Pontypool (43), Ewell (43.1) and Barnstaple (43.1).
No nearby town is as old as Airdrie
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Airdrie | 35,847 | — | 43 | 19% | 26% |
| Plains | 3,122 | 1.9 mi | 36.5 | 13% | 32% |
| Chapelhall | 7,061 | 2.1 mi | 39.9 | 14% | 34% |
| Coatbridge | 42,256 | 2.3 mi | 42.6 | 17% | 26% |
| Holytown | 5,121 | 3.2 mi | 41.4 | 17% | 25% |
| Glenboig | 3,035 | 3.5 mi | 39.5 | 13% | 33% |
| Newarthill | 6,956 | 3.7 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 29% |
| New Stevenston | 6,298 | 3.8 mi | 38.2 | 10% | 35% |
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 Lanarkshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in North Lanarkshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Airdrie’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 Airdrie’s residents
What is the population of Airdrie?
The 2022 Census counted 35,847 people in Airdrie’s locality.
What is the average age in Airdrie?
The median age was 43 at the 2022 Census, younger than 62% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Airdrie?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across North Lanarkshire’s towns. 5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Airdrie?
36% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Airdrie good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Airdrie’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.