Photo: Richard West · CC BY-SA 2.0A larger share of households in flats than 91% of UK towns: 25%
Adults who have never married are rarer here than in 93% of UK towns. The census found that 1.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home in Linlithgow. This West Lothian town counted 12,522 residents and 5,611 households at the 2022 Census. Households in terraced houses make up 13%, against 19% across Scotland’s towns.
Older than 76% of UK towns: half of Linlithgow is over 48.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
Against a figure of 19% across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents aged 65 and over in Linlithgow comes in at 24%. The biggest five-year age group is 50–54, with 8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Linlithgow, 48.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 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.
5.5% of adults are full-time students, a share 74% 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
Managerial and professional jobs account for 52% of Linlithgow’s adults, routine and semi-routine work for 15%, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. 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.
Smaller households than 74% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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.
Here 31% of households are one person living alone, where the figure across Scotland’s towns is 38%. 27% of households have dependent children.
Households in detached houses make up 38% in Linlithgow, more than in 73% 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
Set against 29% across Scotland’s towns, 16% of households have no car or van in Linlithgow. What’s more, a quarter of households live in a flat, more than in 91% of UK towns; 38% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
Linlithgow: 7.1% of residents 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
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (3.2%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). Against that, just over one in ten residents were born outside the UK across Scotland’s towns. 97% of residents have English as their main language, a lower share than in 59% of UK towns. Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 18% of those born abroad (Scotland’s towns: 34%).
41% of residents describe themselves as Christian, fewer than in 91% 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: 91% of Linlithgow · West Lothian’s towns 88% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (5.2%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.7%). Across Scotland’s towns, residents who describe themselves as Christian come to 39%. Compared with other places, residents with no religion are common here: 52%, more than in 96% of UK towns. 86% of residents describe themselves as White British across Scotland’s towns, against 91% in Linlithgow.
Above 96% of UK towns: 58% of adults are married or in 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
At 12%, the share of unpaid carers is in line with the figure across Scotland’s towns. Typically, just over two in five adults are married or in a civil partnership across Scotland’s towns. For 234 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Qualified to degree level: 51% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
51% of Linlithgow’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; 8.8% have none (17%).
71st oldest of 383 UK towns of 9,000 to 17,000 people
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Linlithgow in age: Kirk Sandall and Edenthorpe (48.3), Streetly (48.3), Polegate (48.4) and Gillingham (48.5).
1 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Linlithgow
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Linlithgow | 12,522 | — | 48.3 | 24% | 27% |
| Bo'ness | 14,875 | 2.4 mi | 44.8 | 21% | 25% |
| Maddiston | 3,835 | 3.6 mi | 36.2 | 12% | 38% |
| Polmont | 5,044 | 4.1 mi | 51.4 | 29% | 19% |
| Brightons | 4,048 | 4.5 mi | 45.6 | 21% | 28% |
| Grangemouth | 16,028 | 5 mi | 45.3 | 21% | 20% |
| Redding | 3,812 | 5.4 mi | 37.2 | 14% | 36% |
| Winchburgh | 4,290 | 5.4 mi | 37.2 | 13% | 33% |
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 Linlithgow’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 Linlithgow’s residents
What is the population of Linlithgow?
The 2022 Census counted 12,522 people in Linlithgow’s locality.
What is the average age in Linlithgow?
The median age was 48.3 at the 2022 Census, older than 76% of UK towns. 8.9% of residents were 15 to 24 and 24% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Linlithgow?
91% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 88% across West Lothian’s towns. 7.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Linlithgow?
52% said they had no religion and 41% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Linlithgow good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Linlithgow’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.