Photo: David Bremner · CC BY-SA 2.041% of households live in a terraced house, a share 95% of UK towns don’t reach
Across Scotland’s towns, 29% of households have no car or van; in Cumbernauld, 26%. There were 22,370 households in the town at the 2022 Census, home to 50,557 residents. One-person households: a third of the total. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Cumbernauld sits lower than just over four fifths of UK towns: 44%.
12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, a share 92% of UK towns don’t reach
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
With a median age of 43.8, Cumbernauld is younger than 55% of UK towns. The largest age band is 50–54: 7.9% of residents. In Chryston, the oldest of North Lanarkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 22%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cumbernauld, 43.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 93% of UK towns: 7.4%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Managerial and professional jobs take in 31% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 26% (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Set beside 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.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 73% of UK towns, at 1.9%
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.
Households with dependent children: 26% here and 24% across Scotland’s towns. The comparison figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 3.5% across Scotland’s towns.
More households in flats than 85% of UK towns: 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
Detached houses are home to just over a fifth of households, against 18% across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, nearly two in five households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns.
4.7% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 68% 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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%). Cumbernauld has more residents whose main language is English than 55% of UK towns, at 98%. For comparison, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are nearly a quarter of those born abroad (against 34% across Scotland’s towns).
No religion: 47% of residents, a higher share than 86% 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: 93% of Cumbernauld · North Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops three fifths of UK towns: 93%. Across Scotland’s towns, just over half of residents said they have no religion. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (2.9%), Pakistani (1.1%) and Mixed or multiple (0.7%).
Cumbernauld ranks above 99% of UK towns on 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 share of adults who have never married is 36%, against 40% across Scotland’s towns. Lower than in 66% of UK towns: 46% of adults are married or in a civil partnership. As a reference point, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns.
Qualified to degree level: 25% 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 Cumbernauld, 17%, while 25% hold one at degree level (32%). For 12%, Highers are the highest qualification so far, many of them students still working towards a degree.
Of 136 UK towns its size (35,000 to 68,000 people), the 26th 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 Canterbury (27.5), the youngest, and Lytham St Anne's (54.4), the oldest. Nearest to Cumbernauld in age: Horsham (43.8), Salisbury (43.8), Prescot (43.9) and Macclesfield (44.1).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 3 are older than Cumbernauld
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cumbernauld | 50,557 | — | 43.8 | 20% | 26% |
| Kilsyth | 10,958 | 3.1 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 23% |
| Moodiesburn | 6,706 | 4.2 mi | 43.1 | 18% | 26% |
| Glenboig | 3,035 | 4.4 mi | 39.5 | 13% | 33% |
| Plains | 3,122 | 5.2 mi | 36.5 | 13% | 32% |
| Gartcosh | 3,252 | 5.4 mi | 36.2 | 10% | 41% |
| Chryston | 3,257 | 5.4 mi | 45.4 | 22% | 28% |
| Bonnybridge | 5,085 | 5.6 mi | 44.9 | 20% | 24% |
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 Cumbernauld’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 Cumbernauld’s residents
What is the population of Cumbernauld?
The 2022 Census counted 50,557 people in Cumbernauld’s locality.
What is the average age in Cumbernauld?
The median age was 43.8 at the 2022 Census, younger than 55% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cumbernauld?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across North Lanarkshire’s towns. 4.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cumbernauld?
47% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.3% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Cumbernauld good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Cumbernauld’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.