Photo: Richard Webb · CC BY-SA 2.026% of households live in a flat, more than in 93% of UK towns
The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.1 across Scotland’s towns. Blackburn’s 2,506 households held 5,263 residents at the 2022 Census. The share of households in terraced houses stands at 30%. 48% of residents said they have no religion, a higher share than in 89% of UK towns.
Younger than 66% of UK towns: half of Blackburn is under 42.4
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
There is little gap on residents aged 65 and over: 19%, about the same as across Scotland’s towns. Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 92% of UK towns. No age band is larger than 50–54: 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blackburn, 42.4. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
5.2% of adults are full-time students, a share 65% of UK towns don’t reach
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Across Scotland’s towns, 33% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine work; in Blackburn, 22% and 37%. The comparison figure for full-time students is 9.4% across Scotland’s towns.
The Census was taken on 20 March 2022, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
39% of households are one person living alone, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
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.
Nearly a quarter of households have dependent children, about the same as across Scotland’s towns. Census figures put shared households of unrelated adults at 2.7% in Blackburn. One-person households: 38% across Scotland’s towns, for comparison.
29% of households have no car or van, more than in 94% 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
Households in detached houses are about as common here as across Scotland’s towns, at 18%. One household in 3 has no car or van, the highest share in West Lothian.
Blackburn sits above 72% of UK towns for residents born outside the UK (9.5%)
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 (7.1%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.1%). Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 85% of UK towns: 93%. Elsewhere, 11% of residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. 17% of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 34% across Scotland’s towns.
Only 44% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Blackburn
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 Blackburn · West Lothian’s towns 88% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
Of the other groups, the largest are Other White (8.6%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and African (0.8%). To put it in context, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Blackburn has fewer residents who describe themselves as White British than 72% of UK towns, at 88%.
Above 99% of UK towns: 14% of residents give unpaid care
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
Two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership; across Scotland’s towns the figure is 42%. Here, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. Set beside that, 12% of residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 16% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Blackburn counts 16% of its adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; at the other end, 25% have no qualification (17%).
Of 517 UK towns its size (4,000 to 7,000 people), the 129th youngest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Barton on Sea (65.3). Nearest to Blackburn in age: Stoney Stanton (42.3), Nantyglo (42.3), Chilton (42.5) and Warboys (42.5).
Blackburn is younger than 2 of its 7 nearest neighbours
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blackburn | 5,263 | — | 42.4 | 19% | 24% |
| Bathgate | 22,229 | 1.7 mi | 40.4 | 15% | 29% |
| West Calder | 3,405 | 2.6 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 24% |
| Whitburn | 11,772 | 2.7 mi | 40.7 | 18% | 26% |
| Polbeth | 2,595 | 2.9 mi | 38.3 | 15% | 30% |
| Armadale | 12,590 | 3.3 mi | 40.4 | 16% | 32% |
| Livingston | 55,798 | 4.1 mi | 41.2 | 16% | 29% |
| Fauldhouse | 4,587 | 4.5 mi | 44.6 | 19% | 25% |
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 Blackburn’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 Blackburn’s residents
What is the population of Blackburn?
The 2022 Census counted 5,263 people in Blackburn’s locality.
What is the average age in Blackburn?
The median age was 42.4 at the 2022 Census, younger than 66% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blackburn?
88% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 88% across West Lothian’s towns. 9.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blackburn?
48% said they had no religion and 44% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.9% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Blackburn good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Blackburn’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.