Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0A higher share of households in flats than 93% of UK towns, at 27%
With a median age of 40.4, Bathgate is younger than 78% of UK towns. 22,229 residents in 10,023 households: that is Bathgate at the 2022 Census. Across Bathgate, just over a third of households are one person living alone. Households in Bathgate hold 2.2 people on average (Scotland’s towns: 2.1).
Residents aged 65 and over make up 15% in Bathgate, less than in 89% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
In Bathgate, 10% of residents are aged 15 to 24, beside 12% across Scotland’s towns. Typically, 19% of residents are 65 or over across Scotland’s towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: 7.7% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Bathgate, 40.4. 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.
More students than 84% of UK towns: 6% of adults in Bathgate
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Just over a third of Bathgate’s adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. The benchmark for full-time students across Scotland’s towns: 9.4%.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of households with dependent children than 65% of UK towns, at 29%
Household make-up at the 2022 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against West Lothian’s towns and Scotland’s towns
People per household
Scotland’s towns.
Shared households of unrelated adults: 2.1%, below 67% of UK towns. Across Scotland’s towns, 24% of households have dependent children.
More car-free households than 77% of UK towns: 21% in Bathgate
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
Set against 19% across Scotland’s towns, just over a fifth of households live in a terraced house in Bathgate. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 29%. For Bathgate, the census puts households in detached houses at 25%.
Above 73% of UK towns: 9.9% of residents were born outside the UK
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
On residents whose main language is English, 94% here is much the same as across Scotland’s towns. Set beside that, 11% of residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (6.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.2%).
53% said they have no religion, more than in 97% 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: 88% of Bathgate · West Lothian’s towns 88% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
1.3% of residents said their religion is Muslim. Residents with no religion make up 51% across Scotland’s towns. Bathgate has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 72% of UK towns, at 88%. At 39%, residents who describe themselves as Christian sit close to the figure across Scotland’s towns.
Above 75% of UK towns: 37% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership
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
Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 12%, from the figure across Scotland’s towns. Typically, 40% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: 45% of the total.
Degree-level qualifications: 29% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications are held by 29% of adults in Bathgate (Scotland’s towns: 32%), and no qualification by 15% (Scotland’s towns: 17%).
Among 268 UK towns of 16,000 to 30,000 people, the 63rd youngest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 26.4 in Bangor to 55.6 in Brixham. Nearest to Bathgate in age: Adwick le Street (40.4), Connah's Quay (40.4), Kirkby-in-Ashfield (40.5) and Hertford (40.5).
Median age: 5 of the 7 towns around Bathgate are older
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bathgate | 22,229 | — | 40.4 | 15% | 29% |
| Blackburn | 5,263 | 1.7 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 24% |
| Armadale | 12,590 | 2.4 mi | 40.4 | 16% | 32% |
| Whitburn | 11,772 | 3.2 mi | 40.7 | 18% | 26% |
| West Calder | 3,405 | 4.1 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 24% |
| Polbeth | 2,595 | 4.2 mi | 38.3 | 15% | 30% |
| Livingston | 55,798 | 4.4 mi | 41.2 | 16% | 29% |
| Harthill | 2,613 | 5.2 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 24% |
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.
- “West Lothian’s towns” and “Scotland’s towns” mean their towns. Census comparisons pool every locality in West Lothian (or Scotland), summed the same way as Bathgate’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 Bathgate’s residents
What is the population of Bathgate?
The 2022 Census counted 22,229 people in Bathgate’s locality.
What is the average age in Bathgate?
The median age was 40.4 at the 2022 Census, younger than 78% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 15% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Bathgate?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 88% across West Lothian’s towns. 9.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Bathgate?
53% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.3% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Bathgate good for families?
29% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Bathgate’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.