Photo: Texas Radio and The Big Beat · CC BY-SA 2.035% of households live in a terraced house, a share 90% of UK towns don’t reach
13% of households live in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns. At the 2022 Census Holytown was home to 5,121 people in 2,332 households. Here, 1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home. One-person households are more common here than in 88% of UK towns.
A median age of 41.4: Holytown is younger than 73% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
More residents are 60–64 than any other five-year age: 7.6% of residents. Few places have so few residents aged 65 and over: 17% here, fewer than in 84% of UK towns. At 12%, the share of residents aged 15 to 24 is in line with the figure across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Holytown, 41.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Above 92% of UK towns: 7.1% 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
By class, a quarter of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 32% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). Across the comparison, nearly one in ten 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.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 76% 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.
In Holytown, 25% of households have dependent children, beside 24% across Scotland’s towns.
More households without a car or van than 88% of UK towns: 26%
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
22% of households live in a flat or apartment (Scotland’s towns: 39%). To put it in context, 29% of households have no car or van across Scotland’s towns.
5% born outside the UK, fewer than in 64% 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 two biggest birthplaces abroad are in the Middle East and Asia (2.1%) and in EU countries (2%). Residents born outside the UK: 11% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. Few places have so few residents whose main language is English: 97% here, fewer than in just over three fifths of UK towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 34% (Scotland’s towns: 34%).
A lower share of residents with no religion than 73% of UK towns, at 37%
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: 91% of Holytown · North Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
3.8% of residents are Muslim. Residents with no religion make up 51% across Scotland’s towns. On residents who describe themselves as Christian, Holytown sits higher than two thirds of UK towns: 53%. Across Scotland’s towns, 86% of residents describe themselves as White British; here, 91%.
In Holytown, 14% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% 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
40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, about the same as across Scotland’s towns. For comparison, 12% of residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 43% in Holytown.
Degree-level qualifications reach 19% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Holytown’s adults: 19% with a degree-level qualification and 22% with none, against 32% and 17% across Scotland’s towns. Highers are the highest qualification of 11%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
517 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people: this is the 103rd youngest
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 Holytown in age: Deanshanger (41.4), Sible Hedingham (41.4), Uppingham (41.5) and Milton (41.5).
Older than Holytown: 3 of the 7 towns nearby
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holytown | 5,121 | — | 41.4 | 17% | 25% |
| New Stevenston | 6,298 | 0.6 mi | 38.2 | 10% | 35% |
| Newarthill | 6,956 | 1 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 29% |
| Carfin | 4,427 | 1.3 mi | 34.4 | 7.9% | 39% |
| Chapelhall | 7,061 | 1.6 mi | 39.9 | 14% | 34% |
| Bellshill | 19,488 | 1.7 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 24% |
| Motherwell | 33,021 | 2.4 mi | 42 | 18% | 26% |
| Cleland | 3,043 | 2.6 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 27% |
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 Holytown’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 Holytown’s residents
What is the population of Holytown?
The 2022 Census counted 5,121 people in Holytown’s locality.
What is the average age in Holytown?
The median age was 41.4 at the 2022 Census, younger than 73% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Holytown?
91% 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 Holytown?
37% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 3.8% were Muslim and 6.1% didn’t answer.
Is Holytown good for families?
25% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Holytown’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.