Photo: Robert Murray · CC BY-SA 2.0More households in flats than 97% of UK towns: 33%
Just over a fifth of households live in a detached house; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 18%. At the 2022 Census Hamilton was home to 55,171 people in 25,176 households. Locally, 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. The town has more one-person households than 91% of UK towns, at 36%.
Younger than 65% of UK towns: half of Hamilton is under 42.6
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.7% of residents. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, a higher share than in 85% of UK towns. At 19%, residents aged 65 and over sit close to the figure across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Hamilton, 42.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
A higher share of full-time students than 92% of UK towns, at 7.2%
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 a third of Hamilton’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 26%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. As a reference point, 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.
Households here average 2.2 people, below 81% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against South Lanarkshire’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
By its share of shared households of unrelated adults (2%), Hamilton is below 69% of UK towns. What’s more, the town has fewer households with dependent children than 63% of UK towns, at 26%.
Households without a car or van make up 26% in Hamilton, more than in 88% 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
Against a figure of 19% across Scotland’s towns, the share of households in terraced houses in Hamilton comes in at 18%. Still, in one household in 4 there is no car or van, the 3rd highest share in South Lanarkshire.
A lower share of residents whose main language is English than 70% of UK towns, at 96%
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
Just over a quarter of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 34% across Scotland’s towns. The comparison figure for residents whose main language is English is 94% across Scotland’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.1%), then in the Middle East and Asia (2%).
A lower share of residents who describe themselves as White British than 58% of UK towns, at 91%
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: 91% of Hamilton · South Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Muslims make up 1.6% of residents. The usual figure: 86% of residents describe themselves as White British across Scotland’s towns. Across Scotland’s towns, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian; in Hamilton, 50%.
Unpaid carers make up 13% in Hamilton, more than in 99% of UK towns
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
1,859 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 44% here, fewer than in nearly three quarters of UK towns. As a reference point, 12% of residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns.
28% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Hamilton’s adults: 28% with a degree-level qualification and 20% with none, against 32% and 17% across Scotland’s towns. Many still at university: 11% list A levels as their highest qualification.
38th highest median age among 123 UK towns of 39,000 to 74,000
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Canterbury is the youngest (27.5); Lytham St Anne's the oldest (54.4). Nearest to Hamilton in age: Wokingham (42.5), Gosport (42.6), Leyland (42.7) and Worksop (42.9).
Nearby, 6 of 7 towns have older populations than Hamilton
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton | 55,171 | — | 42.6 | 19% | 26% |
| Blantyre | 16,534 | 2.2 mi | 45 | 21% | 24% |
| Bothwell | 7,002 | 2.6 mi | 48 | 25% | 24% |
| Motherwell | 33,021 | 3 mi | 42 | 18% | 26% |
| Bellshill | 19,488 | 3.7 mi | 43.9 | 19% | 24% |
| Uddingston | 6,181 | 3.7 mi | 46.3 | 24% | 23% |
| Larkhall | 15,319 | 4.1 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 25% |
| Viewpark | 15,832 | 4.2 mi | 43 | 18% | 27% |
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.
- “South Lanarkshire’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in South Lanarkshire (or Scotland), summed the same way as Hamilton’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 Hamilton’s residents
What is the population of Hamilton?
The 2022 Census counted 55,171 people in Hamilton’s locality.
What is the average age in Hamilton?
The median age was 42.6 at the 2022 Census, younger than 65% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Hamilton?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across South Lanarkshire’s towns. 6.7% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Hamilton?
41% said they had no religion and 50% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.6% were Muslim and 5.6% didn’t answer.
Is Hamilton good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Hamilton’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.