Photo: G Laird · CC BY-SA 2.0In Newmains, 16% of residents give unpaid care, more than in 99% of UK towns
With a median age of 41.5, Newmains is younger than 72% of UK towns. 5,364 residents in 2,434 households: that is Newmains at the 2022 Census. In Newmains, 28% of households live in a flat or apartment. The figure for one-person households is 36% in Newmains and 38% across Scotland’s towns.
What the Census says about Newmains’s people
Many carers
846 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 16% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Residents aged 15 to 24: 12%, a higher share than 94% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Residents aged 65 and over are about as common here as across Scotland’s towns: 19%. 55–59 is the most common age band: 7.6% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Newmains, 41.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Above 92% of UK towns: 7.3% 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
Across Scotland’s towns, a third of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine work; in Newmains, 21% and 34%. The wider picture: 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.
2.2 people per household, fewer than in 66% 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.
27% of households have dependent children, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Here, 2.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in detached houses: 14%, a lower share than 87% 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
The share of households in terraced houses tops 79% of UK towns: 28%. On households without a car or van, Newmains sits higher than 94% of UK towns: 30%. Across the comparison, 18% of households live in a detached house across Scotland’s towns.
5.1% of residents were born outside the UK, below 63% 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
21% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns. Here, 96% of residents have English as their main language. As a reference point, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns.
51% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a share 60% of UK towns don’t reach
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 Newmains · North Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (4.3%), Pakistani (1.2%) and Mixed or multiple (0.6%). Across Scotland’s towns, 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian. 93% of residents describe themselves as White British; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 86%.
Below 92% of UK towns: 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 274 residents. 41% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 92% of UK towns. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 42% across Scotland’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 18%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 18% of Newmains’s adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 27% have no qualification (17%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why Highers are the highest qualification of 9.8%.
Of 517 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 106th 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 Newmains in age: Milton (41.5), Marchwood (41.5), Bovingdon (41.6) and Bisley (41.6).
Older than Newmains: 4 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newmains | 5,364 | — | 41.5 | 19% | 27% |
| Cleland | 3,043 | 1.7 mi | 43.1 | 19% | 27% |
| Wishaw | 30,190 | 2 mi | 43.3 | 19% | 25% |
| Law | 3,293 | 2.7 mi | 44.2 | 19% | 24% |
| Carfin | 4,427 | 3.3 mi | 34.4 | 7.9% | 39% |
| Newarthill | 6,956 | 3.3 mi | 40.9 | 17% | 29% |
| Shotts | 8,794 | 3.8 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 26% |
| New Stevenston | 6,298 | 4.1 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 Newmains’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 Newmains’s residents
What is the population of Newmains?
The 2022 Census counted 5,364 people in Newmains’s locality.
What is the average age in Newmains?
The median age was 41.5 at the 2022 Census, younger than 72% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Newmains?
93% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across North Lanarkshire’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Newmains?
41% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.7% didn’t answer.
Is Newmains good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Newmains’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.