List of towns and cities in Scotland by population explained

This list of towns and cities in Scotland with a population of more than 15,000 is ordered by population, as defined and compiled by the National Records of Scotland organisation. Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland by population, whilst the capital city, Edinburgh, is the second largest by population and largest by area (although the Aberdeen and Edinburgh local authority areas contain far more undeveloped land and have a lower population density than the council areas of Dundee and Glasgow; these are the only four city-districts in the country). The city of Stirling has the smallest population amongst Scotland's cities, with an estimated population of just over 37,000 inhabitants. In total, Scotland consists of eight cities, with multiple larger towns, the largest town being Paisley.

The section "Localities" contains a list of basic populated areas ordered by population. The section "Settlements" is a list of populated urban areas, some of which are composed of more than one locality, and which may span across the boundaries of more than one council area.

All localities are either settlements themselves, or contained within larger settlements. As of 2020, there are 656 localities in Scotland, and 514 settlements (i.e. 142 of the localities combine as elements of larger settlements).^[1]

Localities

In Scotland, "locality" refers to a populated area composed of contiguous postcodes with populations of at least 500.^[2] The 52 localities with a population over 15,000 are listed below.^[1]

Rank	Locality	Population	Status	Council area
1	Glasgow		City	Glasgow City
2	Edinburgh		City	City of Edinburgh
3	Aberdeen		City	Aberdeen City
4	Dundee		City	Dundee City
5	Paisley		Town^[3]	Renfrewshire
6	East Kilbride		Town	South Lanarkshire
7	Livingston		Town	West Lothian
8	Dunfermline		City^[4]	Fife
9	Hamilton		Town	South Lanarkshire
10	Cumbernauld		Town	North Lanarkshire
11	Kirkcaldy and Dysart		Town	Fife
12	Inverness		City	Highland
13	Perth		City^[5]	Perth and Kinross
14	Kilmarnock		Town	East Ayrshire
15	Ayr		Town	South Ayrshire
16	Coatbridge		Town	North Lanarkshire
17	Greenock		Town	Inverclyde
18	Glenrothes		Town	Fife
19	Stirling		City	Stirling
20	Airdrie		Town	North Lanarkshire
21	Falkirk		Town	Falkirk
22	Irvine		Town	North Ayrshire
23	Dumfries		Town	Dumfries and Galloway
24	Motherwell		Town	North Lanarkshire
25	Rutherglen		Town	South Lanarkshire
26	Cambuslang		Town	South Lanarkshire
27	Wishaw		Town	North Lanarkshire
28	Bearsden		Town	East Dunbartonshire
29	Newton Mearns		Town	East Renfrewshire
30	Clydebank		Town	West Dunbartonshire
31	Elgin		Town	Moray
32	Renfrew		Town	Renfrewshire
33	Bishopbriggs		Town	East Dunbartonshire
34	Bathgate		Town	West Lothian
35	Arbroath		Town	Angus
36	Kirkintilloch		Town	East Dunbartonshire
37	Musselburgh		Town	East Lothian
38	Dumbarton		Town	West Dunbartonshire
39	Bellshill		Town	North Lanarkshire
40	Peterhead		Town	Aberdeenshire
41	St Andrews		Town	Fife
42	Bonnyrigg		Town	Midlothian
43	Barrhead		Town	East Renfrewshire
44	Blantyre		Town	South Lanarkshire
45	Penicuik		Town	Midlothian
46	Grangemouth		Town	Falkirk
47	Kilwinning		Town	North Ayrshire
48	Broxburn		Town	West Lothian
49	Johnstone		Town	Renfrewshire
50	Viewpark		Town	North Lanarkshire
51	Larkhall		Town	South Lanarkshire
52	Erskine		Town	Renfrewshire

Settlements

In Scotland, 'settlement' refers to a collection of contiguous high density postcodes bounded by low density postcodes whose population was 500 or more.^[6] For example, the area of Ayr includes the adjoining localities of Ayr, Monkton and Prestwick. However, most settlements coincide to a single locality. The 44 settlements with a population over 15,000 are listed below.^[1]

Rank	Urban sub-area	Population	Localities	Council areas
1	Greater Glasgow		Barrhead, Bearsden, Bishopbriggs, Bowling, Brookfield, Busby, Cambuslang, Clarkston, Clydebank, Duntocher & Hardgate, Elderslie, Faifley, Giffnock, Glasgow, Johnstone, Kilbarchan, Linwood, Milngavie, Netherlee, Newton Mearns, Old Kilpatrick, Paisley, Renfrew, Rutherglen, Stamperland, Stepps, Thornliebank	Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, West Dunbartonshire
2	Edinburgh		Edinburgh, Musselburgh, Wallyford	City of Edinburgh, East Lothian
3	Aberdeen			Aberdeen City
4	Dundee		Dundee, Monifieth, Invergowrie	Dundee City, Angus, Perth and Kinross
5	Motherwell & Wishaw		Bellshill, Carfin, Holytown, Motherwell, New Stevenston, Newarthill, Newmains, Viewpark, Wishaw	North Lanarkshire
6	Falkirk		Brightons, Carron, Carronshore, Falkirk, Grangemouth, Larbert, Laurieston, Maddiston, Polmont, Redding, Reddingmuirhead, Rumford, Stenhousemuir, Wallacestone, Westquarter	Falkirk
7	Coatbridge & Airdrie		Airdrie, Bargeddie, Chapelhall, Coatbridge	North Lanarkshire
8	Hamilton		Blantyre, Bothwell, Hamilton, Uddingston	South Lanarkshire
9	Dunfermline		Crossgates, Dunfermline, Inverkeithing, Rosyth	Fife
10	East Kilbride		East Kilbride	South Lanarkshire
11	Livingston		Livingston, Mid Calder, Polbeth, West Calder	West Lothian
12	Greenock		Gourock, Greenock, Port Glasgow	Inverclyde
13	Inverness		Balloch, Culloden, Milton of Leys, Inverness, Smithton, Westhill	Highland
14	Ayr		Ayr, Monkton, Prestwick	South Ayrshire
15	Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith & Gorebridge		Bonnyrigg, Dalkeith, Gorebridge, Mayfield, Newbattle	Midlothian
16	Cumbernauld		Croy, Cumbernauld	North Lanarkshire
17	Kilmarnock		Crookedholm, Hurlford, Kilmarnock	East Ayrshire
18	Kirkcaldy		Kirkcaldy & Dysart	Fife
19	Stirling		Bannockburn, Bridge of Allan, Stirling	Stirling
20	Perth		Perth	Perth and Kinross
21	Glenrothes		Coaltown of Balgonie, Glenrothes, Leslie, Markinch, Thornton	Fife
22	Irvine		Dreghorn, Irvine	North Ayrshire
23	Dumfries		Dumfries	Dumfries and Galloway
24	Saltcoats		Ardrossan, Saltcoats, Stevenston	North Ayrshire
25	Methil, Leven & Buckhaven		Buckhaven, Kennoway, Leven, Methil, Windygates	Fife
26	Kirkintilloch			East Dunbartonshire
27	Bathgate		Bathgate, Blackburn	West Lothian
28	Bonnybridge		Banknock, Bonnybridge, Denny, Dennyloanhead, Dunipace, Greenhill, Haggs, Head of Muir, High Bonnybridge, Longcroft	Falkirk
29				Moray
30	Vale of Leven		Alexandria, Balloch & Haldane, Bonhill, Renton	West Dunbartonshire
31	Arbroath		Arbroath	Angus
32	Dumbarton			West Dunbartonshire
33	Alloa		Alloa, Sauchie	Clackmannanshire
34	Cowdenbeath		Cowdenbeath, Lochgelly, Lumphinnans	Fife
35	Peterhead		Peterhead	Aberdeenshire
36				Fife
37	Erskine		Erskine, Inchinnan	Renfrewshire
38	Larkhall		Ashgill, Larkhall	South Lanarkshire
39			Penicuik	Midlothian
40			Kilwinning	North Ayrshire
41	Broxburn		Broxburn	West Lothian
42	Galashiels		Galashiels, Langlee, Tweedbank
43	Helensburgh		Helensburgh, Rhu	Argyll and Bute

See also

• Local government in Scotland
• Subdivisions of Scotland
• List of towns and cities in England by population
• List of built-up areas in Wales by population
• List of settlements on the island of Ireland by population

Notes and References

1. https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/settlements-localities/set-loc-20/set-loc-2020-data.xlsx Data Tables
2. Web site: NRS – Background Information Settlements and Localities. National Records of Scotland. 17 February 2018.
3. Web site: Department of Constitutional Affairs. 9 September 2009.
4. Web site: 19 May 2022 . Dunfermline is now officially a city . 20 May 2022 . Dunfermline Press . ‘Letters Patent’ will now be prepared which will confer each of the awards formally and will be presented to winners later in the year..
5. News: Perth wins Diamond Jubilee contest to be named seventh Scottish city. BBC News. 14 March 2012.
6. Web site: A Beginners Guide to UK Geography (2023) . . 24 August 2023 . Open Geography Portal . Office for National Statistics . 9 December 2023 . Built-up areas of Scotland, where the population is 500 or more, are defined as 'settlements'..