Scotland is home to 30 more towns than it was just over a decade ago, new research has revealed.

There are now 509 towns across the country, many of which are growing as well as emerging.

The findings are among tens of thousands of pieces of new data compiled to create the latest version of Understanding Scottish Places (USP), a unique hub sharing insight into the dynamics of Scotland’s towns.

Experts say the research underpins the need to better understand the constant evolution of places in order to improve them and enhance the national economy.

Analysing the likes of population, employment, house prices, business make-up and public services, the updated USP website reveals:

• • A net gain of 30 towns across Scotland (509 places with a population of more than 1,000, compared to 479 in 2014).

• • That more than half of people in Scotland (53.8%) live in a town with a population of between 1,000 and 50,000 people.

• • The emergence of “new” Scottish towns as well as the growth and reinvention of others, including those within commuting distance of major cities.

• • New economic and connectivity developments – including railway links – driving growth.

Critically, USP allows people to compare places – a tool which the team behind it says helps enhance understanding about the similarity of Scotland’s places, emphasising shared characteristics, opportunities and challenges to better inform decisions about their future.

One of its significant strengths is the ease of those comparisons – created through the data – with similar towns identified in the description of each place. Enhancements to the website include interactive maps, giving immediate visual impressions.

USP’s update has been supported by the Scottish Government and led by a team from Scotland’s Towns Partnership and the University of Stirling.

It has been unveiled as the biggest-ever Scotland’s Towns Conference takes place in Glasgow today (Thursday Nov 27).

 

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, said: “The Scottish Government is delighted to have helped fund the development and refresh of Understanding Scottish Places.

“As a tool, the information it provides is instrumental in supporting local authorities, businesses, communities and other partners to inform planning and investment decisions to improve Scotland’s places. Everyone working in towns and places in Scotland should ensure they make use of it.”

Scotland: A nation of towns

The foundations of the relaunched USP platform are built on findings from the 2022 census, as well as pulling other significant sources of verified information into one place. 

Statistics are compared with those based on the 2011 census and other research which created the first iteration of the website, launched in 2014.

Aberdeenshire has the highest number of “new” towns, with five. It is followed by Fife with four and three each in the Angus, Highland and Scottish Borders regions.

Anne Findlay, a Research Fellow at the University of Stirling, led analysis of the data.

She said: “The growth of towns is one of the most important outcomes from the work we’ve done. I certainly didn’t expect that we would see the number increase from 479 to 509 – as well as others growing to become classified as larger and medium-sized towns.

“It’s been exciting to look and see where those places are and to offer a way for people to understand what’s happening with Scotland’s towns in 2025.

“The statistics show that towns are developing in new and interesting ways, but USP also helps people understand how towns relate to each other. That’s important.

“I hope the data will spark a lot of conversations, including how towns could develop in future.”

A new type of “new town”

While, in the past, Scotland’s “new towns” were planned settlements – complete with services – USP 2025 reveals a different type of “new” town.

Although there have been some purpose-built places – including Countesswells, near Aberdeen – there are others which have emerged through building growth, particularly within commuting distances of cities.

They include Tweedbank, in the Scottish Borders, where the opening of the new Borders Railway to and from Edinburgh is credited with its growth.

The community – now with a population of 2,000 people – has grown from being part of Galashiels, to a town in its own right.

“Connectivity is incredibly important,” explained Anne Findlay. “People are undoubtedly attracted to places by the rail network. We’ve seen that in places including Tweedbank, but also elsewhere such as Fife.”

Other new towns with strong commuter links include Liff in Angus (to Dundee) and Maidenhill in East Renfrewshire (to Glasgow). 

There are different stories behind the growth of other places, including “new” island towns, sites providing more affordable and social housing, and places benefitting from the development of new green energy infrastructure.

Existing towns are growing as well.

The former mining community of Bilston, in Midlothian, is one of Scotland’s fastest-expanding towns, with its population having risen by 74% since USP 2014.

Two thousand people now live there, with new housing developments making it an attractive commuter settlement, with good access to Edinburgh.

Kirkcaldy, in Fife, is now classed as Scotland’s sixth-largest town, with its population of 51,000 a rise of 3% since USP 2014. The number of households there is up by 5%.

 

 

 

 

Unique, changing places: Planning for the future

Leading towns and retail academic Leigh Sparks is a Professor in Retail Studies at the University of Stirling, Chair of Scotland’s Towns Partnership (STP) and authored the influential New Future for Scotland’s Town Centres report for the Scottish Government.

He said: “No town is an island. No town is static either. They are all changing. Understanding how we adapt the services we provide, the way in which we live and work and how all of that fits together is really important. 

“USP is about people and places. If people understand their places, we will have better towns and a better society and economy. That’s where USP has a valuable role to play.

“The data is insightful, both in terms of what it tells us about individual towns and places, but also in understanding how Scotland is changing and how that might affect some decisions in the future.”

With the rise in towns also comes considerations about how best they can be connected, physically and within the services they provide.

Prof Sparks added: “The variety of new towns – not in the same way as the new towns of the 1960s and 1970s were created, but the way in which new settlements above 1,000 people have emerged in a variety of locations and types – makes us think about how they connect.

“Are they really urban villages as part of a bigger town? Or are they completely separate?

“What services should we be providing at the starting point? By not providing services, what behaviours are we embedding which might not want to see in Scotland? 

“How we develop places becomes quite important. Ideally we would be incremental – building town centre living, developments that intensify our uses in a sensible way – but when we do build new places that are outside or on the edge, what do we provide for them at the outset?

“USP helps pose those questions for developers and policymakers.”

 

New data will make a difference

STP champions the critical part that towns play in the fabric and economy of Scotland, working with the Scottish Government, local authorities and other organisations to promote their evolution in the face of unprecedented change.

The new data compiled for USP will be a key component of its work in the coming years.

Kimberley Guthrie, the organisation’s Chief Officer, said: “The new data sets we have with our updated USP will allow us to make a significant difference in understanding what we need to do in Scotland’s towns over the next few years.

“We have an opportunity to create fresh perspectives on how we improve our towns and have more people living, working, visiting and using them.”

 

She added: “I’m looking forward to working with everyone who has an interest – and a role to play – in our towns.

“Being able to understand more about what we need to do to get our towns fit for the future, as well as understanding some of the complexities that create opportunities will allow for significant progress to be made. 

“We are grateful to the Scottish Government for their support in making this valuable update to USP possible.”

STP is also the organisation behind Scotland’s Improvement Districts and Scotland Loves Local, the campaign for people to support businesses in their home area.

USP will be demonstrated live at Scotland’s Towns Conference, organised by STP and being held at the University of Strathclyde’s Technology and Innovation Centre in Glasgow.

Focussing on investment and innovation, it will be attended by hundreds of people involved in the future of Scotland’s towns from the public, private, community and third sectors.

Where are Scotland’s new towns?

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