Photo: Brideshead at English Wikipedia · Public domain32% of households live in a flat or apartment, more than in 96% of UK towns
Residents with no religion make up 54%, against 51% across Scotland’s towns. Households without a car or van are more common here than in 77% of UK towns. West Calder’s 1,571 households held 3,405 residents at the 2022 Census. 1.3% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Half of West Calder is over 45.9, older than 61% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.6% of residents. West Calder has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 76% of UK towns, at 11%. People aged 65 and over make up just over a fifth of residents, against 19% across Scotland’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ West Calder, 45.9. 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.
5.7% of adults are full-time students, more than in 80% of UK towns
What adults did at the 2022 Census (the NS-SEC classes).
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
In West Calder, 36% of adults work in managerial and professional jobs and 25% in routine and semi-routine work, against 33% and 25% across Scotland’s towns. Against that, 9.4% of 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.
More people live alone than in 86% of UK towns: 35% of households
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.
Nothing unusual on households with dependent children: 24%, close to the figure across Scotland’s towns. By way of comparison, 38% of households are one person living alone across Scotland’s towns. The average household has 2.2 people.
Households in detached houses make up 29% in West Calder, more than in 51% 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
Here, a fifth of households live in a terraced house. Nearly a third of households live in a flat, more than in 96% of UK towns; 29% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
West Calder sits below 66% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (97%)
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
Arrivals from 2017 on account for 22% of residents born abroad, beside 34% across Scotland’s towns. On the census count, 6.9% of residents were born outside the UK. Across Scotland’s towns, the share of residents whose main language is English is 94%.
Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 40% in West Calder, less than in 92% 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: 92% of West Calder · West Lothian’s towns 88% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The groups that follow White British are Other White (3.6%), Mixed or multiple (1.8%) and Indian (0.6%). To put it in context, nearly two in five residents describe themselves as Christian across Scotland’s towns. Set against 86% across Scotland’s towns, 92% of residents describe themselves as White British in West Calder.
A larger share of unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns: 13%
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
Compared with 42% across Scotland’s towns, 47% of adults are married or in a civil partnership here. 93 residents give 50 hours or more of unpaid care each week. By way of comparison, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care across Scotland’s towns.
28% of adults are qualified to degree level
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Against 32% across Scotland’s towns, 28% of adults here have a degree-level qualification, while 17% hold no qualification (17%).
330th lowest median age among 750 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.6 in Milford on Sea. Nearest to West Calder in age: St Agnes (45.9), Talbot Green (45.9), Middleton St George (46) and Shelley (46).
Among its 7 nearest neighbours, 1 are older than West Calder
Nearby towns coloured by median age, Census 2022. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Calder | 3,405 | — | 45.9 | 22% | 24% |
| Polbeth | 2,595 | 1 mi | 38.3 | 15% | 30% |
| Blackburn | 5,263 | 2.6 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 24% |
| Livingston | 55,798 | 3.5 mi | 41.2 | 16% | 29% |
| Mid Calder | 3,217 | 4.1 mi | 49.1 | 21% | 22% |
| Bathgate | 22,229 | 4.1 mi | 40.4 | 15% | 29% |
| Whitburn | 11,772 | 4.7 mi | 40.7 | 18% | 26% |
| East Calder | 7,249 | 5.4 mi | 38.9 | 15% | 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 West Calder’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 West Calder’s residents
What is the population of West Calder?
The 2022 Census counted 3,405 people in West Calder’s locality.
What is the average age in West Calder?
The median age was 45.9 at the 2022 Census, older than 61% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is West Calder?
92% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 88% across West Lothian’s towns. 6.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in West Calder?
54% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 0.4% were Muslim and 4.6% didn’t answer.
Is West Calder good for families?
24% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on West Calder’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.