Visual Summary
In 2024 the number of households in Scotland was 2.55 million.
A household is a group of people living together in a dwelling.
The number of households is calculated from the number of occupied dwellings that are in the Council’s valuation list.
The number of households in Scotland is increasing
Over the last 20 years the number of households in Scotland increased by 301,100 (13%).
The number of households
Main Points
- In 2024 the number of households in Scotland was estimated to be 2.55 million. This was 301,100 (13%) higher than in 2004.
- The 0.7% (17,100 households) increase between 2023 and 2024 was in line with the general upward trend in the growth rate in number of households since 2012.
- Over the last twenty years the number of households increased in every council area. The largest percentage increases were in Midlothian (29%), East Lothian (29%) and Orkney Islands (25%). The smallest percentage increases were in Inverclyde (2%), Dundee City (6%) and West Dunbartonshire (6%).
- Of the 2.74 million dwellings in Scotland in 2024, 91,300 (3%) were vacant and 21,600 (1%) were second homes.
- Empty and second homes are concentrated in different parts of the country. For example, remote rural areas had the highest percentage of dwellings that were vacant (7%) or second homes (7%).
- Average household size in Scotland has generally decreased in recent decades. In 2024 it was estimated to be 2.08 people per household compared with 2.27 at the time of the 2001 Census.
- In 2023 over a third (38%) of households comprised one person living alone. A total of 958,00 people were living alone, 17% of the population.
Households
National
In 2024 there were 2.55 million households in Scotland. This was 17,100 (0.7%) higher than in 2023 and 301,100 (13%) higher than in 2004. Over the last twenty years Scotland’s population increased by around 8% (Figure 1b).
Figure 1a shows that the 0.7% increase in household numbers between 2023 and 2024 was slightly lower than the previous year but in line with the general upward trend in the growth rate from a low of 0.3% in 2012.
People increasingly live in smaller households or alone. So the number of households has increased at a faster rate than it would due to an increase in the population alone.
Figure 1a: The annual percentage change in households was 0.7% in 2024
Annual percentage change in number of households in Scotland: 2004 to 2024
Figure 1b: The percentage increase in household numbers in the last 20 years has been greater than the population growth
Percentage change in number of households in Scotland: 2004 to 2024
Percentage change in population of Scotland: 2003 to 2023
Source of population data: NRS Mid-Year Population Estimates. The population estimate for 2024 was not available at the time of publication, so the 20-year change is from 2003 to 2023.
Average household size is decreasing
Average household size has generally been decreasing over a long period, though at a slower rate in more recent years. In 2024 it was 2.08 people per household. Census data show that average household size fell from 2.27 people per household in 2001 to 2.19 in 2011 and then to 2.12 in 2022.
Estimates based on data from the Scottish Household Survey show that in 2023 over a third (38%) of households consisted of a single person. A total of 958,000 people lived alone, 17% of the population. By contrast just 14% of households in 1961 consisted of one person only.
The changes in household size and type over time are partly due to changes in the way we live. They also reflect the general ageing of Scotland’s population. Older people are more likely to live alone or in smaller households. In addition, a growing proportion of older people are living in their own homes rather than in care homes or other communal establishments.
Council areas
Over the last twenty years the number of households has increased in every council area. Figure 3 shows that changes in household numbers and population over the last 20 years are generally correlated. Council areas with the largest percentage increases in households tend also to be those with the largest percentage increases in population.
Broadly speaking, the east and north of the country saw bigger increases in household numbers compared with the west and south. The largest percentage increases between 2004 and 2024 were in Midlothian (29%), East Lothian (29%), and Orkney Islands (25%). The smallest percentage increases were in Inverclyde (2%), Dundee City (6%) and West Dunbartonshire (6%).
Figure 2: There has been a bigger percentage increase in households than in population in each council area
Percentage change in number of households by council area: 2004 to 2024
Percentage change in population by council area: 2003 to 2023
Source of population data: NRS Mid-Year Population Estimates.
In 2024, average household size varied from 1.92 people per household in Aberdeen City to 2.39 people per household in East Renfrewshire.
Dwellings
National
In 2024 there were 2.74 million dwellings in Scotland. This was an increase of 364,100 (15%) dwellings since 2004.
Of these 2.74 million dwellings, 112,900 (4.1%) were unoccupied. These unoccupied dwellings included:
- vacant properties (91,300, 3.3% of all dwellings)
- second homes (21,600, 0.8% of all dwellings).
Vacant properties included those classified as:
- long-term (six months or more) empty (43,500, 1.6% of all dwellings)
- unoccupied exemptions (47,800, 1.7% of all dwellings), such as new homes yet to be occupied and dwellings undergoing repair or awaiting demolition.
In 2024, 31,600 (73%) of long-term empty dwellings had been empty for more than 12 months1.
1 Scottish Government Housing Statistics (download a table)
Figure 3: There were 91,300 dwellings which were long-term empty or unoccupied exemptions in Scotland in 2024
Number of unoccupied dwellings by type in Scotland: 2014 to 2024
How do these figures compare with recent trends?
Overall, the percentage of unoccupied dwellings in Scotland has remained fairly stable in recent years, around 4%. However, within this overall picture the number of vacant dwellings has been increasing as shown in Figure 3.
This is mainly due to an increase in long-term empty properties. (The slight spike in the number of long-term empty properties in 2020 may reflect the impact of COVID restrictions, for example with fewer people moving house in that period).
The numbers of vacant and second homes can fluctuate a lot from year to year. This can be due to changes in the definitions involved, the charges payable on these types of property and reviews carried out by councils. The number of second homes decreased by 2,500 (10%) between 2023 and 2024, likely reflecting the ability for local authorities to implement a 100% council tax premium on second homes that came into effect on April 2024. Further details on this are included in the Methodology Guide.
Figure 4 shows the annual change in the number of dwellings and in the number of new build completions (for year ending September) in Scotland since 2004. Following the recession in 2007/8 the number of new build completions fell over the period to 2013. Completions then increased until 2019 before the impact of COVID restrictions contributed to a decrease in 2020. The total of 19,9002 completions for the year to September 2024 was 2,400 less than in the previous year and, the COVID-affected year of 2020 aside, the lowest since 2018.
The trend in the annual change in the number of dwellings is similar to that seen for the number of new build completions. However, there are differences between the two measures. For instance, changes in dwelling numbers also reflect demolitions and conversions. Moreover, the data comes from two different sources.
2 Scottish Government: Housing Statistics for Scotland – New House Building
Figure 4: The annual (year to September) number of new build completions averaged 19,800 between 2004 and 2024 compared with an average annual increase (year to December) in dwellings over this period of 18,300
Number of new build completions (year to September) and annual change (year to December) in number of dwellings in Scotland: 2004 to 2024
Council areas
Figure 5 shows the proportion of dwellings which are vacant, long-term empty or second homes in 2024.
The council areas with the highest proportion of dwellings that were vacant in 2024 were Na h-Eileanan Siar (8%), Aberdeen City (6%), Orkney Islands (6%) and Shetland Islands (6%).
The areas with the highest proportion of dwellings that were second homes were mainly rural and island areas, including Argyll and Bute (6%), Na h-Eileanan Siar (6%), Orkney Islands (4%) and Highland (3%).
Highland, Argyll and Bute and Fife together accounted for 8,400 second homes, more than a third (39%) of the total for Scotland.
In 2024 there were 0.35 dwellings per hectare in Scotland as a whole. This varied widely between council areas. Highland and Na h-Eileanan Siar had the lowest density of housing, each with an average of 0.05 dwellings per hectare. Glasgow City had the highest density (18.86 dwellings per hectare), followed by Dundee City (12.90 dwellings per hectare).
Figure 5: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant, long-term empty or second homes by council area, 2024
Data Zones
Data Zones are a geography widely used for official statistics on small areas in Scotland. A revised set of Data Zones based on the results of the 2022 Census were released in December 2024. There are now 7,392 Data Zones, with an average of around 350 households per Data Zone. Information on dwelling characteristics, including estimates of the number of occupied dwellings (a close equivalent to households), vacant dwellings and second homes in each Data Zone, are available from the NRS website and statistics.gov.scot. This information is also available as an interactive map.
Dwellings with Council Tax discounts and exemptions
Single adult discounts from Council Tax are granted to dwellings where one adult lives either alone, with children or with another adult who is ‘disregarded’ for Council Tax purposes (for example a student). In 2024, 1.05 million (39%) dwellings in Scotland received a single adult Council Tax discount. This proportion varied from 31% in East Renfrewshire to 44% in Dundee City.
Some occupied dwellings are exempt from paying Council Tax. Most of these are all-student households, though this category also includes other types of occupied dwellings such as armed forces accommodation. Summary information from Council Tax systems is therefore a good source of data on the numbers of such dwellings. In 2024, 90,600 (3.3%) dwellings in Scotland were occupied but exempt from paying Council Tax. This proportion tends to be highest in council areas which have major universities, and therefore large student populations. They also tend to be quite concentrated within certain parts of these council areas.
The council areas with the highest proportion of dwellings with unoccupied exemptions in 2024 were:
- Inverclyde (3.5%, 1,400 dwellings)
- Na h-Eileanan Siar (3.4%, 500 dwellings)
- Orkney Islands (3.4%, 400 dwellings).
Characteristics of dwellings
In 2024, around three in five (58%) dwellings in Scotland fell into the lowest Council Tax bands (A-C). This proportion was highest in Na h-Eileanan Siar (77%) and lowest in East Renfrewshire (26%). Just over one in seven (14%) dwellings fell into the highest Council Tax bands (F-H). This proportion was highest in East Renfrewshire (36%) and lowest in Na h-Eileanan Siar (2%).
Urban rural areas
The Scottish Government produces an Urban Rural classification. This is based on settlement size defined by NRS and accessibility based on drive-time analysis.
The density of dwellings in large urban areas is around 370 times greater than in remote rural areas.
Figure 6: Accessible rural areas had the biggest change in the percentage of occupied dwellings from 2014 to 2024
Percentage change between 2014 and 2024 in number of occupied dwellings by urban-rural category
Figure 6 illustrates the percentage change in the number of occupied dwellings by urban rural area categories between 2014 and 2024. The biggest increase in the number of occupied dwellings over this period was seen in accessible rural areas (15%). This compared with a decrease of 0.2% for remote small towns.
Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation
The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is a relative measure of deprivation across Data Zone areas in Scotland. It is currently based on the set of Data Zones created following the 2011 Census. More information is available on the Scottish Government website.
Figure 7: The proportion of vacant dwellings is generally smaller in the less deprived SIMD deciles while more deprived areas have a lower proportion of second homes, 2024
Percentage of dwellings that are unoccupied by type and SIMD decile: 2024
Figure 7 shows the percentage of vacant dwellings and second homes by SIMD decile. The proportion of vacant dwellings is generally smaller in the less deprived SIMD deciles. Second homes are less likely to be located in more deprived areas.
Figure 8 illustrates that the most deprived neighbourhoods have much higher proportions of dwellings in the lowest (A-C) Council Tax bands, and with a single adult discount from Council Tax. The density of dwellings in the most deprived neighbourhoods (20 dwellings per hectare) is nearly three times that in the least deprived areas (7 dwellings per hectare).
The data tables for the analysis by urban rural and SIMD classifications can be downloaded from the NRS website for dwelling characteristics (2005 to 2024) and for occupied and vacant dwellings (2014 to 2024).
Figure 8: The most deprived areas have higher proportions of dwellings in Council Tax bands A to C and with a single adult discount than the least deprived areas
Percentage of dwellings in Council Tax bands A to C; percentage of dwellings with a single adult discount; number of dwellings per hectare, least/ most deprived SIMD decile: 2024
Household and dwellings estimates for other geographies
Household and dwelling estimates for electoral wards, parliamentary constituencies and Scottish Island Regions are available from the NRS website. These are based on aggregations of the estimates for Data Zones. Estimates for National Park areas are also available, based on aggregations of estimates for postcodes.
Information about our statistics
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