City

Stirling area guide

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

Council: Stirling
Region: Scotland
Population: 39,824 (2024)

StirlingCity

At a glance

What Stirling is like

Stirling is a city in Scotland. It is home to about 39,824 people across 17,264 households. 57.2% of households own their home, 18.1% rent privately and 22.8% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 47.8% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for Scotland.

Scores

How Stirling compares

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

AffluenceMore

5.6/ 10

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

CrimeMore

45per 1,000

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

TransportMore

5.0/ 10

Good: 1 station within a mile, 50 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

14 schools in Stirling. None has a published inspection grade.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Stirling differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
18.1% of households rent privately, against 12.9% across Scotland. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
21.1% of adults are full-time students, against 8.8% across Scotland. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
A young populationPositive
26.1% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 19% across Scotland.

Questions

Stirling FAQs

Is Stirling a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 5.6 out of 10 on the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2020, where 10 is the least deprived in Scotland. Transport connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10 (good).

Is Stirling safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Police Scotland publishes crime by council area only. Stirling recorded 45 crimes per 1,000 residents in 2025-26, against 57 across Scotland.

Who lives in Stirling?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 13.3% of residents. 57.2% of households own their home. The most common property type is purpose-built flat (33.8%).

How well connected is Stirling?

Connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10.

There are 50 bus stops within 800m and 1 station or tram stop within a mile, scoring 5.0 out of 10 (good). The nearest station is Stirling Rail Station, 0.2 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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