AboutAverage

The most average places

Nowhere is exactly average. But some places come remarkably close. We lined up every sizeable town against its country on 16 everyday measures, from age and marriage to home ownership and the drive to work, and found the one that sits nearest the middle on all of them at once.

Ireland

The most average town isNewbridgeCounty Kildare, population 24,366

Closest to the Ireland average on households living in a flat or apartment, married (incl. civil partnership), all ages, drive to work. Furthest on aged 65 and over and one-person households, but nobody's perfect.

How Newbridge compares with Ireland. The middle line is the national figure; dots further out are less typical.
  • Median age37.6 vs 38.8
  • Aged under 1521% vs 20%
  • Aged 65 and over11% vs 15%
  • Single (never married), all ages54% vs 54%
  • Married (incl. civil partnership), all ages37% vs 37%
  • Separated or divorced, all ages5% vs 5%
  • Unemployment (census principal status)9% vs 8%
  • In the labour force64% vs 61%
  • Homes owner-occupied64% vs 66%
  • Average household size2.9 vs 2.7
  • One-person households18% vs 23%
  • Households living in a flat or apartment13% vs 13%
  • Degree or higher30% vs 34%
  • Drive to work53% vs 52%
  • Work mainly at or from home9% vs 11%
  • Can speak Irish35% vs 38%

The runners-up

  1. Trim County Meath 0.55
  2. Kilkenny County Kilkenny 0.56
  3. Bray County Wicklow 0.57
  4. Cobh County Cork 0.59
  5. Wicklow County Wicklow 0.60
  6. Bandon County Cork 0.60
  7. Cork city and suburbs County Cork 0.67
  8. Shannon County Clare 0.71
  9. Ennis County Clare 0.72

At the other end of the 95 we compared: Longford, County Longford, gloriously its own place.

How do we know?

We compared 95 towns with 5,000+ people from Census 2022. For each measure we took the gap between the place and the national figure, divided by how much places usually differ on that measure, and then averaged those gaps (root mean square, equal weights). The smallest overall gap wins. Newbridge still came first in 12 of 16 re-runs that each left one measure out.

This is a bit of fun with real numbers, and a judgement call: different measures or weights would crown a different place. We leave out religion, ethnicity, country of birth, health, disability and income.

  • Towns are CSO 2022 built-up areas (BUAs). Dublin city and suburbs and Cork city and suburbs are single BUAs.
  • Marital status in SAPS covers all ages, so children count as 'single'. Shares are of all residents.
  • Census unemployment is self-declared principal economic status, not the ILO rate.
  • CSO applies record perturbation to Census 2022 outputs; small differences are not meaningful.

Source: Central Statistics Office, Census 2022 Small Area Population Statistics. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Town-to-county lookup: CSO / Tailte Éireann Urban Areas 2022 boundaries (CC BY 4.0). Central Statistics Office (CSO), Ireland. Our methods.

England and Wales

The most average local authority district isColchesterEast of England, population 192,716

Closest to the England and Wales average on married or in a civil partnership, unemployment rate, never married or in a civil partnership. Furthest on separated or divorced and economically active, but nobody's perfect.

How Colchester compares with England and Wales. The middle line is the national figure; dots further out are less typical.
  • Median age39.2 vs 40.5
  • Aged under 1518% vs 17%
  • Aged 65 and over18% vs 19%
  • Never married or in a civil partnership38% vs 38%
  • Married or in a civil partnership45% vs 45%
  • Separated or divorced12% vs 11%
  • Unemployment rate6% vs 6%
  • Economically active62% vs 61%
  • Homes owner-occupied65% vs 62%
  • Average household size2.4 vs 2.4
  • One-person households29% vs 30%
  • Households living in a flat or apartment20% vs 22%
  • Degree-level qualification (Level 4+)32% vs 34%
  • Drive to work47% vs 45%
  • Work mainly at or from home31% vs 31%

The runners-up

  1. Bury North West 0.31
  2. Newport Wales 0.33
  3. Worcester West Midlands 0.39
  4. Runnymede South East 0.40
  5. Kirklees Yorkshire and The Humber 0.41
  6. Bedford East of England 0.41
  7. Warrington North West 0.43
  8. Stockport North West 0.43
  9. Derby East Midlands 0.47

At the other end of the 331 we compared: City of London, London, gloriously its own place.

How do we know?

We compared 331 local authority districts from Census 2021. For each measure we took the gap between the place and the national figure, divided by how much places usually differ on that measure, and then averaged those gaps (root mean square, equal weights). The smallest overall gap wins. Colchester still came first in 15 of 15 re-runs that each left one measure out.

This is a bit of fun with real numbers, and a judgement call: different measures or weights would crown a different place. We leave out religion, ethnicity, country of birth, health, disability and income.

  • Areas are the 331 local authority districts (2022 boundaries) of England and Wales, not towns: ONS publishes the full TS tables for districts; built-up-area tables are not on Nomis in the same form.
  • Census 2021 took place during COVID-19 restrictions, which affects travel-to-work and working from home (ONS advises caution).
  • ONS applies targeted record swapping and cell-key perturbation; small differences are not meaningful.

Source: Office for National Statistics, Census 2021, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains public sector information. Office for National Statistics (ONS), via Nomis. Our methods.

Scotland

The most average town isHamiltonSouth Lanarkshire, population 55,171

Closest to the Scotland average on married or in a civil partnership, households living in a flat or apartment, work mainly at or from home. Furthest on drive to work and degree-level qualification or above, but nobody's perfect.

How Hamilton compares with Scotland. The middle line is the national figure; dots further out are less typical.
  • Median age42.4 vs 43
  • Aged under 1516% vs 15%
  • Aged 65 and over19% vs 20%
  • Never married or in a civil partnership37% vs 38%
  • Married or in a civil partnership44% vs 44%
  • Separated or divorced11% vs 11%
  • Unemployment rate4% vs 4%
  • Economically active62% vs 61%
  • Homes owner-occupied66% vs 62%
  • Average household size2.2 vs 2.1
  • One-person households36% vs 37%
  • Households living in a flat or apartment33% vs 34%
  • Degree-level qualification or above28% vs 32%
  • Drive to work50% vs 46%
  • Work mainly at or from home32% vs 32%

The runners-up

  1. Barrhead East Renfrewshire 0.34
  2. Kirkintilloch East Dunbartonshire 0.36
  3. Dumbarton West Dunbartonshire 0.37
  4. Renfrew Renfrewshire 0.43
  5. Motherwell North Lanarkshire 0.47
  6. East Kilbride South Lanarkshire 0.49
  7. Airdrie North Lanarkshire 0.49
  8. Inverkeithing Fife 0.51
  9. Broxburn West Lothian 0.52

At the other end of the 176 we compared: St Andrews, Fife, gloriously its own place.

How do we know?

We compared 176 towns with 5,000+ people from Scotland's Census 2022. For each measure we took the gap between the place and the national figure, divided by how much places usually differ on that measure, and then averaged those gaps (root mean square, equal weights). The smallest overall gap wins. Hamilton still came first in 13 of 15 re-runs that each left one measure out.

This is a bit of fun with real numbers, and a judgement call: different measures or weights would crown a different place. We leave out religion, ethnicity, country of birth, health, disability and income.

  • NRS does not publish a bulk council-area/locality file of these tables, so locality and national values are sums of output-area cells. NRS perturbs OA cells (statistical disclosure control), so these sums can differ slightly from NRS's own locality and Scotland tables.
  • Localities are NRS Census 2022 localities (towns/cities); council area is the one holding most of the locality's residents.
  • Census 2022 day was 20 March 2022, after most COVID-19 restrictions had lifted, so travel to work is less affected than in England & Wales 2021.

Source: Scotland's Census 2022 - National Records of Scotland. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains NRS data © Crown copyright. National Records of Scotland (NRS). Our methods.

United States

The most average city or town isMesaArizona, population 511,764

Closest to the United States average on married (excluding separated), average household size, homes in buildings with 5+ units. Furthest on unemployment rate and work from home, but nobody's perfect.

How Mesa compares with United States. The middle line is the national figure; dots further out are less typical.
  • Median age37.4 vs 38.9
  • Aged under 1519% vs 18%
  • Aged 65 and over17% vs 17%
  • Never married33% vs 34%
  • Married (excluding separated)48% vs 48%
  • Separated or divorced13% vs 12%
  • Unemployment rate4% vs 5%
  • In the labor force65% vs 63%
  • Homes owner-occupied64% vs 65%
  • Average household size2.6 vs 2.5
  • People living alone (one-person households)27% vs 29%
  • Homes in buildings with 5+ units20% vs 19%
  • Bachelor's degree or higher32% vs 36%
  • Drive alone to work66% vs 69%
  • Work from home19% vs 15%

The runners-up

  1. Napa California 0.30
  2. Oceanside California 0.33
  3. Ventura California 0.35
  4. Concord California 0.35
  5. Richland Washington 0.35
  6. Cranston Rhode Island 0.37
  7. Virginia Beach Virginia 0.39
  8. Santa Rosa California 0.39
  9. New Braunfels Texas 0.39

At the other end of the 876 we compared: The Villages, Florida, gloriously its own place.

How do we know?

We compared 876 places with 50,000+ people from American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates. For each measure we took the gap between the place and the national figure, divided by how much places usually differ on that measure, and then averaged those gaps (root mean square, equal weights). The smallest overall gap wins. Mesa still came first in 15 of 15 re-runs that each left one measure out.

This is a bit of fun with real numbers, and a judgement call: different measures or weights would crown a different place. We leave out religion, ethnicity, country of birth, health, disability and income.

  • The ACS is a sample survey, not a full census: every value has a margin of error (not used here).
  • Places are incorporated places and census-designated places with 50,000+ residents (50 states + DC; Puerto Rico excluded because the national figure excludes it).
  • 'Homes in buildings with 5+ units' counts all housing units including vacant ones.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2020-2024 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. This product uses Census Bureau data but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau. U.S. Census Bureau. Our methods.