Understanding Scottish Places

Irvine, North Ayrshire

Population 33,998

View Irvine on map

Irvine is a new town in North Ayrshire built in the 1960s. However a settlement preceded the new town dating back to at least the 12th century. Coal mining was important to Irvine and the harbour at Irvine used for coal exports. With the decline in mining and other industrial decline the town experienced high unemployment. New industries such as Volvo and the Kymmene paper mill brought much needed jobs in the 1980s. The paper mill continues to operate.

In large towns, people in this group experience more challenging circumstances with higher rates of unemployment, poorer health, lack of a car, lower levels of education and lower social grades than other groups. A higher proportion live in social rented housing. There is a higher proportion of single person households and lone parents.

Irvine is an interdependent to independent town.

Its most similar towns are Alloa, Clydebank, Coatbridge, and Greenock.

To gain more insight into Irvine, compare it to any of the other towns included in USP.

Inter-relationships

Dependent
Interdependent
Independent

Number of jobs

4
Type average 4

Diversity of jobs

2
Type average 2

Distance travelled to work

2
Type average 3

Number of public sector jobs

6
Type average 3

Number of hospitals

0
Type average -3

Number of GP's and dentists

2
Type average -1

Number of children in primary schools

0
Type average -1

Number of children in secondary schools

-4
Type average -2

Distance travelled to study

2
Type average 3

Number of shops

2
Type average 3

Diversity of retail offer

6
Type average 5

Number of charities

Type average -1
Dependent
Interdependent
Independent

Change

Public

Education (% all people aged 16 and over)

  No education Standard grade or equivalent Higher grade or equivalent HNC, HND, SVQ4 Degree or higher degree
Irvine 21.35690055 22.88519907 9.476879129 25.77039814 20.5106231

Commercial

Distance travelled to study

  At home Up to 5km 5 to 10km 10 to 30km 30km and over
Irvine 3.7061003588446377 10.771221836578622 1.2059532913700806 1.3824342608388729 0.814753809047591

Environment Indicators

Download

Download all of the Irvine data in PDF format.

Download PDF

Discover

To gain more insight into Irvine, compare it to any of the other towns included in USP.

Compare towns

The USP Your Town Audit helps you collect local data about your town. It is designed to complement the national data presented on this page, enabling you to build up a fuller picture of your town.

Find out more

Footnotes