Occasional Paper
Scotland's Census 2001 - Statistics on Travel to Work or Study
Where workers and students in the four largest cities lived
This section looks at the number of people who worked or studied in each of Scotland’s four largest cities.
For Dundee and Glasgow, the “city area” in Table 15B and Table 15D has been defined as the local authority area of the same name as both of these council areas accurately define the cities themselves. However, the Aberdeen City and City of Edinburgh council areas contain other towns and villages as well as the cities themselves. For example, the towns of Cove Bay and South Queensferry are, respectively, within the Aberdeen City and City of Edinburgh council areas but are separate from the main city. Therefore the Aberdeen and Edinburgh “city areas” have been defined differently - by the localities of the same name. Map 2A, Map 2B, Map 2C and Map 2D show the extent of each of the “city areas”.
"Tables 15A, B, C and D" break down the numbers working or studying in each “city area” by the locality in which they lived.
- Of those who worked or studied in the Aberdeen “city area”, 67 per cent actually lived there.
- Of the remainder, more people travelled in from Cove Bay, Westhill, Peterculter/Milltimber and Portlethen than anywhere else, although together, these communities only contributed less than 8 per cent of Aberdeen’s working/student population.
- Most of the non-Aberdeen City residents came from a wide range of settlements in the Aberdeenshire hinterland.
- 75 per cent of people who worked or studied in the Dundee “city area” also lived there. This figure is the highest of any of the four main “city areas”.
- Almost 2,400 people (2 per cent) travelled from the part of the Dundee locality which was within Angus council area (effectively Monifieth).
- There were five other localities from which more than 1,000 people commuted. More people travelled from Carnoustie (2,267) and Arbroath (1,562) than anywhere else with high numbers also commuting from Perth, Forfar and Newport-on Tay.
- Of those who worked or studied in the Edinburgh “city area”, 72 per cent actually lived there.
- For the remaining 28 per cent who did not live in the Edinburgh locality, more people travelled from Livingston (6,194) than anywhere else.
- There were also large numbers travelling from Musselburgh (5,863), Penicuik (3,805), Bonnyrigg (3,562) and South Queensferry (2,854). In addition, more than 2,000 people commuted from each of Mayfield, Dalkeith, Dunfermline and Linlithgow.
- 1,795 people travelled from the Glasgow “city area” to the Edinburgh “city area”.
- 58 per cent of people who worked or studied in the Glasgow “city area” also lived there. This figure was the lowest of any of the four main “city areas”.
- More people travelled to Glasgow from East Kilbride (8,919), Paisley (8,699), Bearsden (8,675) and Rutherglen (7,437) than anywhere else. In addition, more than 4,000 people travelled from seven other localities, namely Cumbernauld, Bishopbriggs, Newton Mearns, Clarkston, Clydebank, Giffnock and Cambuslang.
- 2,018 people travelled from the Edinburgh “city area” to the Glasgow “city area” – 223 more than the number who travelled in the opposite direction.
