Photo: Richard Sutcliffe · CC BY-SA 2.0A smaller share of households with dependent children than 91% of UK towns: 21%
By its share of households without a car or van (25%), Lanark is above 88% of UK towns. 8,937 residents in 4,293 households: that is Lanark at the 2022 Census. Households in flats account for 29%. On residents aged 65 and over, Lanark sits higher than 80% of UK towns: 27%.
Half of Lanark is over 49.4, older than 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
No age band is larger than 60–64: 7.7% of residents. In Biggar, the oldest of South Lanarkshire’s towns by this measure, it is 28%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Lanark, 49.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Lanark ranks above 60% of UK towns on full-time students: 5%
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; Lanark has 35% and 27%. By way of comparison, 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.
Smaller households than 96% of UK towns: 2 people on average
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.
Nearly two in five households are one person living alone, against 38% across Scotland’s towns. The census found that 1.6% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Lanark.
Above 55% of UK towns: 31% of households 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
Here, nearly a fifth of households live in a terraced house. 29% of households live in a flat, more than in 95% of UK towns; 31% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 88% of UK towns: 3.2%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.6%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%). For comparison, 11% of residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in 83% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 27% of those born abroad (Scotland’s towns: 34%).
96% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 86% 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: 96% of Lanark · South Lanarkshire’s towns 92% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (2.4%), Mixed or multiple (0.6%) and Chinese (0.2%). More residents with no religion than in 85% of UK towns: 47%. At the same time, in Lanark, 45% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 39% across Scotland’s towns.
Lanark: 14% of residents give unpaid care, above 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
Here 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 42%. For unpaid carers, the comparison across Scotland’s towns is 12%. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 271.
30% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Lanark’s adults: 30% with a degree-level qualification and 19% with none, against 32% and 17% across Scotland’s towns.
81st oldest of 483 UK towns of 6,000 to 12,000 people
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 Tidworth (28.4), the youngest, and Barton on Sea (65.3), the oldest. Nearest to Lanark in age: Fakenham (49.4), Hollywood (49.4), Ross-on-Wye (49.6) and Chalford (49.6).
The towns around Lanark are all younger
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lanark | 8,937 | — | 49.4 | 27% | 21% |
| Carluke | 14,120 | 4.6 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 25% |
| Lesmahagow | 4,259 | 5.1 mi | 45.1 | 22% | 25% |
| Kirkmuirhill and Blackwood | 4,351 | 5.8 mi | 43.7 | 20% | 27% |
| Law | 3,293 | 6.7 mi | 44.2 | 19% | 24% |
| Stonehouse | 5,591 | 8.5 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 26% |
| Larkhall | 15,319 | 8.8 mi | 44.6 | 21% | 25% |
| Newmains | 5,364 | 8.9 mi | 41.5 | 19% | 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 Lanark’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 Lanark’s residents
What is the population of Lanark?
The 2022 Census counted 8,937 people in Lanark’s locality.
What is the average age in Lanark?
The median age was 49.4 at the 2022 Census, older than 82% of UK towns. 9.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Lanark?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 92% across South Lanarkshire’s towns. 3.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Lanark?
47% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.5% didn’t answer.
Is Lanark good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Lanark’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.