City · Fife

Dunfermline area guide

Who lives in Dunfermline, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Fife
Region: Scotland
Population: 59,030 (2024)

DunfermlineCity · Fife

At a glance

What Dunfermline is like

Dunfermline is a city in Fife in Scotland. It is home to about 59,030 people across 25,493 households. 68.4% of households own their home, 11.4% rent privately and 18% are in social housing. The largest age group is 50–54, and 60.3% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Scotland.

Scores

How Dunfermline compares

Headline figures for Dunfermline, set against Scotland as a whole.

AffluenceMore

6.4/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in Scotland) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

55per 1,000

Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in Fife a year, against 57 across Scotland.

TransportMore

7.0/ 10

Very good: 3 stations within a mile, 73 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

19 schools in Dunfermline. None has a published inspection grade.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Dunfermline differs most from the national average.

01
Well connectedPositive
3 stations within a mile and 73 bus stops within a ten-minute walk.

Questions

Dunfermline FAQs

Is Dunfermline a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 6.4 out of 10 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020, where 10 is the least deprived in Scotland. Transport connectivity scores 7.0 out of 10 (very good).

Is Dunfermline safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Police Scotland publishes crime by council area only. Fife recorded 55 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025-26, against 57 across Scotland.

Who lives in Dunfermline?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 50–54, at 7.3% of residents. 68.4% of households own their home. The most common property type is detached (32%).

Which council covers Dunfermline?

The local authority for Dunfermline is Fife.

Dunfermline comes under Fife in Scotland. Council tax, planning applications and bin collections are handled there.

How well connected is Dunfermline?

Connectivity scores 7.0 out of 10.

There are 73 bus stops within 800m and 3 stations and tram stops within a mile, scoring 7.0 out of 10 (very good). The nearest station is Dunfermline City Rail Station, 0.5 miles away.

Sources: Scotland's Census 2022 (NRS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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