Visual Summary
In 2025 the number of households in Scotland was 2.57 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 296,500 (13%).
The number of households
Supporting data tables and background data for the charts in this publication are available here.
A separate Methodology Guide provides background details on:
The definitions, data sources and methodology used for producing estimates of household and dwellings in Scotland
Other data sources used in the production of the statistics in this publication
How the household and dwelling estimates are used
Links to related publications and websites.
Main points
In 2025 the number of households in Scotland was estimated to be 2.57 million. This was 296,500 (13%) higher than in 2005.
The 0.7% (18,400 households) increase between 2024 and 2025 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 (31%), East Lothian (30%) and Orkney Islands (23%). The smallest percentage increases were in Inverclyde (2%), West Dunbartonshire (5%), Argyll and Bute (6%) and South Ayrshire (6%).
Of the 2.76 million dwellings in Scotland in 2025, 89,400 (3.2%) were vacant and 20,900 (0.8%) 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 (6%) or second homes (5%).
Average household size in Scotland has generally decreased in recent decades. In 2025 it was estimated to be 2.11 people per household compared with 2.27 at the time of the 2001 Census.
In 2024 over a third (37%) of households comprised one person living alone. An estimated 946,000 people were living alone, 17% of the population.
Households
National
In 2025 there were 2.57 million households in Scotland. This was 18,400 (0.7%) higher than in 2024 and 296,500 (13%) higher than in 2005. 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 2024 and 2025 was 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 increase in households was 0.8% in 2025
Annual percentage change in number of households in Scotland: 2005 to 2025
Figure 1b: The percentage increase in household numbers in the last 20 years has been greater than the population growth
Percentage change in population and number of households in Scotland: 2005 to 2025
Source of population data: NRS Mid-Year Population Estimates.
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 2025 it was 2.11 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 2024 over a third (37%) of households consisted of a single person. An estimated 946,000 people lived alone, 17% of the population.
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 2005 and 2025 were in Midlothian (31%), East Lothian (30%), and Orkney Islands (23%). The smallest percentage increases were in Inverclyde (2%), West Dunbartonshire (5%), Argyll and Bute (6%) and South Ayrshire (6%).
Figure 2: There has been a bigger percentage increase in households than in population in each council area, except in Glasgow City and City of Edinburgh which have large student populations
Percentage change in population and number of households by council area: 2005 to 2025
Source of population data: NRS Mid-Year Population Estimates.
In 2025, average household size varied from 1.96 people per household in Aberdeen City to 2.44 people per household in East Renfrewshire.
Dwellings
National
In 2025 there were 2.76 million dwellings in Scotland. This was an increase of 361,100 (15%) dwellings since 2005.
Of these 2.76 million dwellings, 110,400 (4.0%) were unoccupied. These included:
vacant properties (89,400, 3.2% of all dwellings)
second homes (20,900, 0.8% of all dwellings).
Vacant properties included those classified as:
long-term (six months or more) empty (44,500, 1.6% of all dwellings)
unoccupied exemptions (45,000, 1.6% of all dwellings), such as new homes yet to be occupied and dwellings undergoing repair or awaiting demolition.
In 2025, 32,300 (73%) of long-term empty dwellings had been empty for more than 12 months .
Figure 3: There were 89,400 dwellings which were long-term empty or unoccupied exemptions in Scotland in 2025
Number of unoccupied dwellings by type in Scotland: 2015 to 2025
How do these figures compare with recent trends?
Overall, the percentage of unoccupied dwellings in Scotland has remained 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 fell by 3,100 (13%) between 2023 and 2025. The majority of this decrease (2,500) occurred between 2023 and 2024. The decrease in the last couple of years likely reflects 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 2005. 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 18,500 completions for the year to September 2025 was 1,400 (6.9%) fewer than in the previous year and, the Covid-affected year of 2020 aside, the lowest since 2017.
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.
Figure 4: The annual (year to September) number of new build completions averaged 19,500 between 2005 and 2025 compared with an average annual increase (year to December) in dwellings over this period of 18,100
Number of new build completions (year to September) and annual change (year to December) in number of dwellings in Scotland: 2005 to 2025
Council areas
Figure 5 shows the proportion of dwellings which are vacant, long-term empty or second homes in 2025.
The council areas with the highest proportion of dwellings that were vacant in 2025 were Na h-Eileanan Siar (8.0%), Argyll and Bute (6.7%), Aberdeen City (6.6%), Orkney Islands (6.1%) and Shetland Islands (6.1%).
The areas with the highest proportion of dwellings that were second homes were mainly rural and island areas, including Na h-Eileanan Siar (5.9%), Argyll and Bute (5.6%), Orkney Islands (3.6%) and Highland (2.7%). Highland, Argyll and Bute and Fife together accounted for 8,100 second homes, more than a third (39%) of the total for Scotland.
In 2025 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 (18.93 dwellings per hectare), followed by Dundee City (13.00 dwellings per hectare).
Figure 5: Percentage of dwellings which are vacant, long-term empty or second homes by council area, 2025
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 2025, 1.07 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 2025, 89,700 (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.
In 2025, the council areas with the highest proportion of dwellings with unoccupied exemptions – for example, because they were new but not yet occupied, undergoing repair, awaiting demolition, or where the previous occupier had died - were:
Na h-Eileanan Siar (3.6%, 500 dwellings)
Orkney Islands (3.4%, 400 dwellings)
Inverclyde (3.0%, 1,200 dwellings).
Characteristics of dwellings
In 2025, 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 360 times greater than in remote rural areas.
Figure 6: Remote small towns had the biggest percentage change in the number of occupied dwellings from 2015 to 2025
Percentage change between 2015 and 2025 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 2015 and 2025. The biggest increase in the number of occupied dwellings over this period was seen in remote small towns and remote rural areas (33% and 13%).
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 areas while more deprived areas have a lower proportion of second homes, 2025
Percentage of dwellings that are unoccupied by type and SIMD decile: 2025
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 approaching three times that in the least deprived areas (7 dwellings per hectare).
The data tables for the analysis by SIMD classifications can be downloaded from the NRS website for dwelling characteristics (2004 to 2025) and for occupied and vacant dwellings (2015 to 2025).
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: 2025
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.
The estimates for 2025 for second homes and long-term empty properties in Scottish Island Regions largely confirm existing patterns.
Although just over 2% of dwellings are found in the Scottish Island Regions, the 4,000 second homes located there accounted for nearly a fifth (19%) of the Scottish total. The highest concentrations of second homes were in Arran, Bute and the Cumbraes (15.4% of dwellings) and the Argyll Islands (12.6%). The lowest were in Shetland – mainland and connected (1.3%) and Orkney – mainland and connected (3.0%).
In 2025, there were 2,600 long-term empty properties in the Scottish Island Regions, 6% of the Scottish total. The concentration of long-term empty properties, as a proportion of all dwellings, ranged from 2.1% in Orkney – mainland and connected, to 8.0% in the Argyll Islands and 8.6% in Shetland – Outer islands.
Household and dwelling estimates for areas within each Island Region are available in the Data Zones estimates data set, though in some instances individual islands may be too small to be identified separately in the Data Zone geography.
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