Photo: Dauntless111 · CC BY-SA 3.061% of residents said they have no religion, a share 99% of UK towns don’t reach
Across Scotland’s towns, households average 2.1 people; in Innerleithen, 2.1. Few places have so few households with dependent children: 22% here, fewer than in 89% of UK towns. 3,152 residents in 1,519 households: that is Innerleithen at the 2022 Census. For Innerleithen, the census puts residents aged 15 to 24 at 9.1%.
What the Census says about Innerleithen’s people
More with no religion than most
61% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 33% Christian, against 51% and 39% across Scotland’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Innerleithen’s residents are under 50.4 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 26% are 65 or over, against 19% across Scotland’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: Scotland’s Census 2022 (output areas summed to the 2022 locality).
Older than 87% of UK towns: half of Innerleithen is over 50.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
The biggest five-year age group is 55–59, with 9.2% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Scotland’s towns. On the census count, 26% of residents are 65 or over.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Innerleithen, 50.4. 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. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
A smaller share of full-time students than 71% of UK towns: 4.4%
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
By class, 34% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work (Scotland’s towns: 33% and 25%). As a yardstick, 9.4% of adults are full-time students across Scotland’s towns.
In Innerleithen, 1.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, fewer than in 91% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Scottish Borders’ towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Little separates the share of one-person households here, 38%, from the figure across Scotland’s towns. Across the comparison, 3.5% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Scotland’s towns.
Above 97% of UK towns: 33% of households live in a flat or apartment
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 Scotland’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 18%; Innerleithen has 32%. Add to that, households without a car or van are more common here than in 64% of UK towns. The wider picture: 39% of households live in a flat or apartment across Scotland’s towns. For Innerleithen, the census puts households in terraced houses at 19%.
4.1% of residents were born outside the UK, below 77% 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). 99% of residents have English as their main language, more than in 74% of UK towns. Typically, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns.
Below 98% of UK towns: 33% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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: 96% of Innerleithen · Scottish Borders’ towns 93% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Behind White British, the largest groups are Other White (3%), Mixed or multiple (0.7%) and Pakistani (0.1%). At 96%, the share of residents who describe themselves as White British is higher than in 92% of UK towns. The usual figure: 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns.
More unpaid carers than 97% of UK towns: 12% of residents
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
Here 31% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 40%. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are common here: 48%, more than in 51% of UK towns. Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 57 residents.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 34% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
34% of Innerleithen’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 19% have none (17%).
Among 515 UK towns of 2,500 to 4,000 people, the 116th oldest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Keele is the youngest (20.6); West Chiltington the oldest (63.1). Nearest to Innerleithen in age: New Romney (50.4), Alderholt (50.4), Hurworth-on-Tees (50.5) and Bawtry (50.5).
Around Innerleithen, 1 of 4 towns have a higher median age
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Innerleithen | 3,152 | — | 50.4 | 26% | 22% |
| Peebles | 9,117 | 5.6 mi | 49.4 | 26% | 24% |
| Galashiels | 10,071 | 9.7 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 19% |
| Selkirk | 4,669 | 9.9 mi | 51.7 | 30% | 17% |
| Langlee | 3,530 | 11.1 mi | 39 | 16% | 28% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Scottish Borders’ towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in Scottish Borders (or Scotland), summed the same way as Innerleithen’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 Innerleithen’s residents
What is the population of Innerleithen?
The 2022 Census counted 3,152 people in Innerleithen’s locality.
What is the average age in Innerleithen?
The median age was 50.4 at the 2022 Census, older than 87% of UK towns. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 26% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Innerleithen?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 93% across Scottish Borders’ towns. 4.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Innerleithen?
61% said they had no religion and 33% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Innerleithen good for families?
22% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Innerleithen’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.