High Mill Chapel Street · Category A listed · Photo: Jim Ness · CC BY-SA 2.0
Carluke’s story
Carluke in pictures
Historic Environment Scotland lists 4 buildings inside Carluke’s locality, 1 of them in the top category.
Explore the history →
CarlukeSouth Lanarkshire
With 14,120 residents, it is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
St. Lukes Church and Churchyard · Photo: Victuallers · CC BY-SA 4.0
Population
14,120
Census 2022 · South Lanarkshire council
Median home
£158K
666 sales in 3 years
Median age
45.1
22% are 65+ · South Lanarkshire 20%
Degree level
27%
of residents 16+ · Scotland 32%
Walk, cycle, bus
14%
of commuters · Scotland 27%
Is Carluke a good place to live?
Carluke’s best grade is for cost of living: a typical home costs £158,300 and rent runs £839 a month. The weak point is health: men here can expect to live to 76.5, women to 80.7. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for schools, B− for walkability and B for hazard risk. Band D council tax is £1,468.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · life expectancy, ONS · commuting, Census 2022 · flood risk, SEPA. Carluke has no Safety Grade, because Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, and so no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
What makes Carluke stand out
The 3 things Carluke does most differently from other towns.
Band D council tax
Council tax
£1,468 Band D
41% below the typical town in England and Wales’s £2,472, 2026–27
The council’s Band D; water and sewerage are billed on top. Scottish Government.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
14% leave the car
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
43% below the typical town in England and Wales’s £277K
Data-zone medians, 2023 to 2025, at early-2025 prices.
How Carluke grades
American towns are graded separately.
Carluke has no Safety Grade, because Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime, and so no overall grade. The other subjects are graded below.
Cost of livingThe 76th most affordable of 296 Scottish towns: median sale £158,300, 3.4 years of area incomeA+Open →HealthBased on how healthy residents are for their agesDOpen →Hazard risk0.3% of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the seaBOpen →WalkabilityClose to the middle of the towns comparedB−Open →SchoolsBased on how pupils do in exams and testsB−Open →
SafetyNo street-level crime data–
Jobs & incomeNo small-area income data in Scotland–
How TownRatings grades towns →
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Carluke.
HousingCost of living grade A+
Few households rent privately in Carluke: 7%, fewer than in South Lanarkshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
Home ownership stands at 69% of households. Behind the median of £158,300: 666 sales in Carluke’s data zones, 2023 to 2025. 22% live in social housing, between South Lanarkshire’s towns (20%) and Scotland’s towns (24%).
£158Kmedian sale
Median sale price · 2023 to 2025, at early-2025 prices
Carluke£158K
Typical UK town£277K
69%
of households own their home · Scotland 60%
7%
rent privately · Scotland 13%
£839
average private rent a month, South Lanarkshire council area
£1,468
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
Registers of Scotland data-zone sale prices · Scottish Government council tax · Scotland’s Census 2022 tenure · OGL · The Scottish median is our estimate from data-zone sales, brought to early-2025 prices.
SchoolsB−
School results in Carluke are better than in 50% of Scottish towns
Between them, five primaries and one secondary teach 2,160 pupils in Carluke. Two of its 7 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
B−School Grade
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crawforddyke Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 403 | – |
| Carluke High SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,102 | B− |
Scottish Government · school statistics and leavers’ results · The grade uses the secondaries its children go to; Scotland publishes no primary results by school.See all 7 schools →
Health
People in Carluke live shorter lives than in 90% of UK towns
77% of Carluke’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, about level with South Lanarkshire’s towns (77%) and below Scotland’s towns (78%). Disability touches 26% of the town’s population. Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 7.3% of the town.
77%good or very good healthDHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 77%Fair 16%Bad or very bad 7%
| Census 2022 | Carluke | South Lanarkshire | Scotland |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.3% | 7.9% | 7.2% |
| Activities limited (health or disability) | 26% | 25% | 24% |
76.5
life expectancy at birth, men (2020–24)
80.7
life expectancy at birth, women
Scotland’s Census 2022, general health and disability · Public Health Scotland life expectancy by intermediate zone, 2020–24 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy and early deaths among them.
History
High Mill Chapel Street (Category A) heads Carluke’s short list of listed buildings
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Carluke’s listed buildings include High Mill Chapel Street, Category A. Per 10,000 residents, Carluke counts 3 listed buildings.
4listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Historic Environment Scotland
Category A1
Category B3
Category C0
Among them · Category A
- High Mill Chapel Street Category A
0
scheduled monuments
0
gardens and designed landscapes
3
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical town in England and Wales 24
Historic Environment Scotland list, October 2026 · OGL
Work & commute
Fewer commuters in Carluke walk, cycle or take the bus or train than in South Lanarkshire’s towns or Scotland’s towns: 14%
Scotland’s Census was taken on 20 March 2022, a year after England and Wales’s lockdown census; 27% of workers were mainly at home, and shares here are of those who travelled.
For nearly a fifth of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 84% of commuters drove, above South Lanarkshire’s towns (79%) and Scotland’s towns (70%) alike. Working from home was the norm for 27% of workers at the census. About 15% of its commuters stay in Carluke for work.
14%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2022
Driving84%
On foot7%
Train4%
Bus4%
19%
of commuters travel under 5 km · Scotland 44%
27%
worked mainly from home in March 2022
2.3%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
B−
Walkability: more walkable than 52% of UK towns
Scotland’s Census 2022 (NRS), method of travel and distance to work · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
Few people in Carluke are 15 to 24: 9.7%, fewer than in South Lanarkshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
Those 65 and older account for 22% of residents. Carluke has a median age of 45.1. Degrees are held by 27% of adults, close to South Lanarkshire’s towns (28%) and below Scotland’s towns (32%).
45.1median age
CarlukeSouth LanarkshireScotland
Ages · share of residents
22%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications18%
Apprenticeship9%
Highers or similar11%
Degree level27%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
| Carluke | South Lanarkshire | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 16% | 15% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 25% | 26% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 28% | 27% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 19% |
| No qualifications | 18% | 18% | 17% |
| Apprenticeship | 9.2% | 8.4% | 7.5% |
| Highers or similar | 11% | 11% | 11% |
| Degree level | 27% | 28% | 32% |
Scotland’s Census 2022 · South Lanarkshire and Scotland: all residents of their towns · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Craignethan Castle and 2 more in and around Carluke
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Carluke. Best known first.
Castle · Historic Environment ScotlandCraignethan Castle3.9 km outside town, to the southwest
CastleLee Castle1.8 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkClyde Valley Family Park2.9 km outside town, to the southwestPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Craignethan Castle: Supergolden, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Lee Castle: John Preston Neale, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Carluke
14pages on Carluke
The big questions
SafetyNot graded · 12% live in Scotland’s most crime-deprived fifthCost of livingA+Median home £158K · rent £839 a monthSchoolsB−7 state schoolsHealthDLife expectancy 76.5 (men), 80.7 (women)Work & commute52% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazardsB0.3% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Out and about
Famous people from Carluke
22 notable people were born in Carluke.
W
William RoyScottish military engineer, surveyor and antiquarian (1726–…C
Charlie TelferScottish footballer (born 1995)Photo credits
James Gibb Ross: Jules-Isaïe Benoît, Public domain · Donald Cameron: Royal Navy official photographer, Public domain · John Jackson: Whatsthebigideahere, CC BY-SA 4.0
Carluke’s neighbours
The nearest towns and villages, from National Records of Scotland’s 2022 localities. See them on the map →
LawNewmainsLanarkWishawLarkhallKirkmuirhill and BlackwoodClelandCarluke
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carluke | 14,120 | — | — | A+ | — | D |
| Law | 3,293 | 2.2 | — | A+ | — | C− |
| Newmains | 5,364 | 4.3 | — | A+ | — | D− |
| Lanark | 8,937 | 4.6 | — | A+ | — | D |
| Wishaw | 30,190 | 4.7 | — | A+ | — | D− |
| Larkhall | 15,319 | 5.4 | — | A+ | — | D− |
| Kirkmuirhill and Blackwood | 4,351 | 5.6 | — | A+ | — | C− |
| Cleland | 3,043 | 5.8 | — | A+ | — | D− |
No Scottish town has a Safety Grade or an overall grade yet: Police Scotland doesn’t publish street-level crime. People: Census 2022. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Carluke
How much is council tax in Carluke?
Band D council tax in Carluke is £1,468 for 2026–27, less than in 99% of UK towns (council, county, police and fire). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Is Carluke expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £158,300, against £277,000 in the typical town in England and Wales. On cost of living it is the 76th most affordable of 296 Scottish towns.
Does Carluke flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on GOV.UK’s flood risk service.
About Carluke
Town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland
Carluke is a locality of 14,120 people, in the South Lanarkshire council area. TownRatings uses National Records of Scotland’s 2022 localities as Scotland’s towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council area, so its figures cover the town itself. Localities split the big settlements into their towns, as ONS’s 2022 boundaries split conurbations in England and Wales.
Built from NRS geography and Census 2022
- Population
- 14,120 (Census 2022)
- Council
- South Lanarkshire
- Nation
- Scotland
- Area
- 1.9 sq mi (5.1 km²)
- NRS code
- S52000122
Sources: Scotland’s Census 2022 (National Records of Scotland), output areas summed to the NRS 2022 locality · Registers of Scotland house price statistics, medians and quartiles of residential sales by 2022 data zone, 2004 to 2025 (the 2023 to 2025 headline brought to early-2025 prices with each council’s medians) · Scottish Government, Council Tax by band 2026-27; Scottish Water charges 2026-27 · Scottish Government, Recorded Crime in Scotland (crimes, offences and clear-up rates by council area, 2016-17 to 2025-26); Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020v2 crime domain and SIMD crime indicators (2014/15, 2017/18), 2011 data zones with Census 2022 residents · ONS gross disposable household income by council (2022), scaled to household income on England and Wales’s councils, with Scotland’s Census 2022 households · DWP / ONS Claimant Count via Nomis (2022 data zones, January to August 2026), over residents aged 16 to 64 at Scotland’s Census 2022; council series since 2015 · Scottish Government school contact list (31 July 2026) and school summary statistics (pupil census, September 2025); School Information Dashboard leavers’ attainment by school, 2022-23 to 2024-25 (data.gov.scot) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the 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.