Bishopton, Rossland Church of Scotland · Photo: Leslie Barrie · CC BY-SA 2.0A town of families: 35% of Bishopton’s households have children
Compared with 38% across Scotland’s towns, 19% of households are one person living alone here. Bishopton is home to 10,048 residents in 3,972 households, by the 2022 Census. Census figures put households without a car or van at 6.7% in the town. On households in terraced houses, Bishopton sits lower than just over four fifths of UK towns: 13%.
What the Census says about Bishopton’s people
A town of families
35% of Bishopton’s 3,972 households had dependent children in 2021, more than in 94% of UK towns and the highest share in Renfrewshire. 20% of residents are under 15. Households ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Bishopton’s residents are under 38.2 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 7.7% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
A median age of 38.2: Bishopton is younger than 88% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The share of residents aged 65 and over trails 88% of UK towns: 16%. Locally, 7.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bishopton, 38.2. 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.
Bishopton sits above 73% of UK towns for full-time students (5.4%)
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 or semi-routine work; Bishopton has 53% and 13%. Full-time students make up 9.4% across Scotland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.1% in Bishopton, less than in 99% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Renfrewshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Households average 2.5 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. As a reference point, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Scotland’s towns.
A town of detached houses: 44% of households live in one
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
39% of households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns, against 7.3% in Bishopton. For comparison, 18% of households live in a detached house across Scotland’s towns.
3.6% born outside the UK, fewer than in 84% 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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (1.5%), then in the Middle East and Asia (0.9%). At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 81% of UK towns. Typically, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 16% (Scotland’s towns: 34%).
In Bishopton, 42% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 88% 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: 95% of Bishopton · Renfrewshire’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
95% of residents describe themselves as White British, against 90% across Renfrewshire’s towns and 86% across Scotland’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian: 39% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison. In Bishopton, 52% of residents said they have no religion.
Bishopton sits above 97% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (59%)
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 number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 197. 30% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, fewer than in 64% of UK towns. The benchmark for married adults and civil partners across Scotland’s towns: 42%. The share of unpaid carers is 11%, against 12% across Scotland’s towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 46%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 46% of Bishopton’s adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 6.8% have no qualification (17%).
31st youngest of 456 UK towns of 7,000 to 14,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Stoke Gifford is the youngest (27.8); Seaton the oldest (61). Nearest to Bishopton in age: Llanharan and Brynna (38), Mildenhall (38.2), Burton Latimer (38.4) and Radstock (38.5).
Bishopton is younger than every town around it
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bishopton | 10,048 | — | 38.2 | 16% | 35% |
| Erskine | 14,857 | 2.3 mi | 46.3 | 22% | 26% |
| Bowling and Old Kilpatrick | 4,761 | 2.4 mi | 50.6 | 22% | 19% |
| Houston | 6,206 | 3.1 mi | 48.5 | 23% | 30% |
| Dumbarton | 21,027 | 3.7 mi | 43.4 | 20% | 24% |
| Linwood | 8,408 | 3.8 mi | 43.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Clydebank | 26,220 | 3.9 mi | 42.9 | 19% | 22% |
| Duntocher and Hardgate | 6,573 | 4 mi | 48.3 | 25% | 23% |
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.
- “Renfrewshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Renfrewshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Bishopton’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 Bishopton’s residents
What is the population of Bishopton?
The 2022 Census counted 10,048 people in Bishopton’s locality.
What is the average age in Bishopton?
The median age was 38.2 at the 2022 Census, younger than 88% of UK towns. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bishopton?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 90% across Renfrewshire’s towns. 3.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bishopton?
52% said they had no religion and 42% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Bishopton good for families?
35% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Bishopton’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.