Elderslie Kirk (West), 284 Main Road, Elderslie · Photo: wfmillar · CC BY-SA 2.0A town of flats: 25% of households live in one
By its share of unpaid carers (14%), Elderslie is above 99% of UK towns. Across Elderslie, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, households without a car or van are common here: 22%, more than in 78% of UK towns. The town had 5,632 residents in 2,583 households at the 2022 Census.
Half of Elderslie is over 48.1, older than 75% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 trails 70% of UK towns: 9.2%. More residents are 55–59 than any other five-year age: nearly one in ten residents. Residents aged 65 and over are more common here than in 65% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Elderslie, 48.1. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
Elderslie ranks above 71% of UK towns on full-time students: 5.4%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Managerial and professional jobs account for nearly two fifths of Elderslie’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 20%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. The share of full-time students across Scotland’s towns is 9.4%.
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 81% 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.
The share of shared households of unrelated adults trails 61% of UK towns: 2.2%. The census found that 24% of households have dependent children in Elderslie.
Only 24% of households in Elderslie live in a detached house
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
Across Elderslie, nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house. A quarter of households live in a flat, more than in 91% of UK towns; 24% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 83% of UK towns: 3.6%
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
Here 99% of residents have English as their main language, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 94%. Across Scotland’s towns, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%).
Elderslie sits above 83% of UK towns for residents with no religion (46%)
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: 94% of Elderslie · Renfrewshire’s towns 90% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
1.6% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Across the comparison, 51% of residents said they have no religion across Scotland’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 69% of UK towns. By contrast, the share of residents who describe themselves as Christian trails 72% of UK towns: 46%.
Elderslie ranks above 67% of UK towns on married adults and civil partners: 51%
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
Across Scotland’s towns, two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Elderslie, 31%. Married adults and civil partners make up 42% across Scotland’s towns. Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 172.
Degree-level qualifications reach 33% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 32% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Elderslie, 33%, and 17% have none, against 17%.
Among 625 UK towns of 4,000 to 8,000 people, the 198th 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 Bailrigg (18.9), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Elderslie in age: Battle (48.1), Dinas Powis (48.1), Sedgefield (48.2) and Appley Bridge (48.2).
Older than Elderslie: 2 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elderslie | 5,632 | — | 48.1 | 24% | 24% |
| Johnstone | 16,477 | 1.2 mi | 42.5 | 19% | 23% |
| Linwood | 8,408 | 1.4 mi | 43.5 | 19% | 25% |
| Paisley | 79,351 | 2.3 mi | 42.3 | 18% | 22% |
| Kilbarchan | 3,367 | 2.3 mi | 51.6 | 28% | 19% |
| Houston | 6,206 | 2.8 mi | 48.5 | 23% | 30% |
| Bridge of Weir | 4,927 | 3.9 mi | 46.1 | 22% | 28% |
| Neilston | 5,459 | 4.1 mi | 43.1 | 21% | 28% |
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 Elderslie’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 Elderslie’s residents
What is the population of Elderslie?
The 2022 Census counted 5,632 people in Elderslie’s locality.
What is the average age in Elderslie?
The median age was 48.1 at the 2022 Census, older than 75% of UK towns. 9.2% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Elderslie?
94% 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 Elderslie?
46% said they had no religion and 46% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 5.9% didn’t answer.
Is Elderslie good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Elderslie’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.