Photo: Leslie Barrie · CC BY-SA 2.055% said they have no religion, more than in 98% of UK towns
Households in flats: 28% here and 39% across Scotland’s towns. At the 2022 Census Whitburn was home to 11,772 people in 5,623 households. The census found that 26% of households have no car or van here. With a median age of 40.7, Whitburn is younger than 77% of UK towns.
Whitburn: 11% of residents are aged 15 to 24, above 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2022.
55–59 is the most common age band: 7.5% of residents. Across Scotland’s towns, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Whitburn has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 77% of UK towns, at 18%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Whitburn, 40.7. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Scotland, 51% of residents are women.
In Whitburn, 5.7% of adults are full-time students, more than in 78% of UK towns
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 or semi-routine work; Whitburn has 25% and 33%. 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.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 93% of UK towns
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.
The figure for shared households of unrelated adults is 1.7% in Whitburn and 3.5% across Scotland’s towns. More one-person households than in 94% of UK towns: 37%. The census found that just over a quarter of households have dependent children here.
In Whitburn, 18% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 79% 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. 28% of households live in a flat, more than in 94% of UK towns; 18% in a detached house, against 18% across Scotland’s towns.
Whitburn: 7.2% 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
95% of residents have English as their main language, against 94% 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 (5.2%) and in Africa (1%).
Only 39% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Whitburn
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: 90% of Whitburn · West Lothian’s towns 88% · Scotland’s towns 86%.
Religion · all residents
The next-largest groups, after White British, are Other White (6%), African (1%) and Pakistani (0.8%). Residents who describe themselves as White British are rarer here than in just over three fifths of UK towns.
In Whitburn, 40% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 90% 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
The share of unpaid carers tops 99% of UK towns: 13%. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 42% across Scotland’s towns. Across Whitburn, nearly two in five adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 19% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2022.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Whitburn counts 19% of its adults, against 32% across Scotland’s towns; at the other end, 22% have no qualification (17%).
Among 433 UK towns of 8,000 to 16,000 people, the 72nd youngest
Median age, Census 2022. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Whitburn in age: Wendover (40.7), Leatherhead (40.7), Kearsley (40.8) and New Rossington and Rossington (40.8).
Whitburn is younger than 5 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whitburn | 11,772 | — | 40.7 | 18% | 26% |
| Armadale | 12,590 | 2.3 mi | 40.4 | 16% | 32% |
| Harthill | 2,613 | 2.4 mi | 45.4 | 20% | 24% |
| Fauldhouse | 4,587 | 2.5 mi | 44.6 | 19% | 25% |
| Blackburn | 5,263 | 2.7 mi | 42.4 | 19% | 24% |
| Bathgate | 22,229 | 3.2 mi | 40.4 | 15% | 29% |
| West Calder | 3,405 | 4.7 mi | 45.9 | 22% | 24% |
| Shotts | 8,794 | 5.2 mi | 41.8 | 18% | 26% |
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 Whitburn’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 Whitburn’s residents
What is the population of Whitburn?
The 2022 Census counted 11,772 people in Whitburn’s locality.
What is the average age in Whitburn?
The median age was 40.7 at the 2022 Census, younger than 77% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Whitburn?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2022, against 86% across Scotland’s towns and 88% across West Lothian’s towns. 7.2% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Whitburn?
55% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2022 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5% didn’t answer.
Is Whitburn good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2022, against 24% across Scotland’s towns. Schools are on Whitburn’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.