# Prestwick

Town in South Ayrshire, Scotland.

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire, Scotland. About 14,128 people.

Town. Code S45000658. In: [Towns](https://openindex.co.uk/places/towns) › [South Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire)

Prestwick is an ONS built-up area: the land built up as one town, whatever council it is in. Figures for Prestwick add up the census output areas (or, for claimants, the neighbourhoods) that sit mostly inside it, so they are close to, but not exactly, the town’s own.

## Key figures

- **Population: 14,209** (2021). Prestwick had 14,209 usual residents at the census (Scotland's Census 2022). 468th least populated of 1,209. Source: Census 2021, England and Wales and Scotland's Census 2022 and Census 2021, Northern Ireland, 2021. Published 21 July 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick#f-population
- **People in radon Affected Area squares: 3%** (2022). About 3% of people in Prestwick live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area. UK 44%. Source: Worked out by Open Index from the UKHSA and BGS radon atlas and census output areas. Published 1 December 2022. https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick#f-radon-affected-share
- **Gigabit broadband coverage: 95.3%** (January 2026). In Prestwick, 95.3% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026 (Ofcom). UK 87.8%. Source: Connected Nations (Ofcom), January 2026. Published 13 May 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick#f-gigabit-coverage
- **Claimant rate: 2.0%** (August 2026). In Prestwick, 2.0% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026 (ONS via Nomis). UK 3.9%. Source: Claimant count (Nomis), August 2026. Published 15 September 2026. https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick#f-claimant-rate

## On the map

- [Radon Affected Area by town](https://openindex.co.uk/map/radon-affected-areas?place=S45000658) (Worked out by Open Index · 2022): About 3% of people in Prestwick live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area.
- [Average house price by council](https://openindex.co.uk/map/house-prices?place=S45000658) (UK House Price Index · July 2026): Published for whole councils, so the map colours all of South Ayrshire, where most of this town lies. The outline is Prestwick.
- [Crimes by council](https://openindex.co.uk/map/scotland-crime-count?place=S45000658) (Recorded crimes and offences in Scotland · 2025/26): Published for whole councils, so the map colours all of South Ayrshire, where most of this town lies. The outline is Prestwick.
- [Population by town](https://openindex.co.uk/map/population?place=S45000658) (Census 2021, England and Wales): Prestwick had 14,209 usual residents at the census.

## How Prestwick compares

Each town against every other town the measure covers.

| Measure | Prestwick | Rank | Compared with |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Population | 14,209 | 58th most populated | 117 towns, Scotland · 2021 |
| People in radon Affected Area squares | 3% | joint 52nd fewest people in radon Affected Areas | 117 towns, Scotland · 2022 |
| Gigabit broadband coverage | 95.3% | joint 34th highest | 117 towns, Scotland · Jan 2026 |
| Claimant rate | 2.0% | joint 20th lowest | 117 towns, Scotland · Aug 2026 |

## What is the population of Prestwick?

Prestwick had 14,209 usual residents at the census.
Prestwick is the 468th least populated of 1,209 in the UK.

## Neighbourhoods in Prestwick

| Area | People (census) | Recorded crime per 1,000 | Deprivation decile | Gigabit broadband |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Heathfield - 01](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019844) | 670 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Heathfield - 02](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019845) | 786 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Heathfield - 03](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019846) | 636 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Heathfield - 04](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019847) | 675 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Prestwick Airport and Monkton - 03](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019866) | 553 | – | – | 81.0% |
| [Prestwick Airport and Monkton - 04](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019867) | 653 | – | – | 98.5% |
| [Prestwick East - 01](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019857) | 846 | – | – | 99.8% |
| [Prestwick East - 02](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019858) | 667 | – | – | 99.7% |
| [Prestwick East - 03](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019859) | 730 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Prestwick East - 04](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019860) | 643 | – | – | 99.7% |
| [Prestwick East - 05](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019861) | 812 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Prestwick East - 06](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019862) | 772 | – | – | 99.4% |
| [Prestwick East - 07](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019863) | 873 | – | – | 100.0% |
| [Prestwick West - 01](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019849) | 421 | – | – | 87.1% |
| [Prestwick West - 02](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019850) | 606 | – | – | 99.3% |
| [Prestwick West - 03](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019851) | 479 | – | – | 91.9% |
| [Prestwick West - 04](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019852) | 493 | – | – | 97.5% |
| [Prestwick West - 05](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019853) | 722 | – | – | 79.8% |
| [Prestwick West - 06](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019854) | 466 | – | – | 97.4% |
| [Prestwick West - 07](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019855) | 750 | – | – | 94.9% |
| [Prestwick West - 08](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/neighbourhood/s01019856) | 908 | – | – | 98.1% |

## Your MP

- [Central Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/constituency/central-ayrshire): Alan Gemmell (Labour), MP since July 2024.

As of 18 October 2026. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0. Source: UK Parliament, Members API.

## Council

[South Ayrshire](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire)

## Postcode districts covering Prestwick

[KA9](https://openindex.co.uk/postcode/ka9)

## Middle areas in Prestwick

[Heathfield](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/heathfield), [Prestwick East](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/prestwick-east), [Prestwick West](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire/prestwick-west)

## Towns near Prestwick

[Ayr](https://openindex.co.uk/town/ayr), [Troon](https://openindex.co.uk/town/troon), [Kilmarnock](https://openindex.co.uk/town/kilmarnock), [Irvine](https://openindex.co.uk/town/irvine), [Stevenston](https://openindex.co.uk/town/stevenston), [Kilwinning](https://openindex.co.uk/town/kilwinning)

## Prestwick in brief

Prestwick is a town in South Ayrshire, Scotland.
About 14,128 people lived in Prestwick in mid-2024 (worked out by Open Index from NRS small-area estimates).
Prestwick had 14,209 usual residents at the census.
About 3% of people in Prestwick live in a 1 km square that the radon atlas marks as a radon Affected Area.
In Prestwick, 95.3% of homes and businesses could get gigabit-capable broadband in January 2026.
In Prestwick, 2.0% of residents aged 16 to 64 were claiming out-of-work benefits in August 2026.

## About

- Type: Town
- Code: S45000658
- Constituency: [Central Ayrshire †](https://openindex.co.uk/constituency/central-ayrshire)
- Council: [South Ayrshire †](https://openindex.co.uk/south-ayrshire)
- Nation: [Scotland](https://openindex.co.uk/scotland)
- Area: 8.41 km²
- People, mid-2024: 14,128*
- Neighbourhoods: 21
- Output areas: 123

* People: worked out by Open Index from neighbourhood estimates, shared out by where people lived at the census (by area in Northern Ireland). This area's edges do not follow neighbourhood edges, so the figure is close but not exact.
† Best fit: the constituency and council this town mostly lies in. Its edges do not follow theirs.

## Next door

[Ayr](https://openindex.co.uk/town/ayr), [Troon](https://openindex.co.uk/town/troon), [Kilmarnock](https://openindex.co.uk/town/kilmarnock), [Irvine](https://openindex.co.uk/town/irvine), [Stevenston](https://openindex.co.uk/town/stevenston), [Kilwinning](https://openindex.co.uk/town/kilwinning)

## Latest updates for Prestwick

- Schools updated: Ofsted · Oct 2026.
- GP practices updated: NHS England · Oct 2026.
- Schools updated: Department for Education · Oct 2026.
- Schools updated: Department for Education · Oct 2026.

The same figures as JSON: https://openindex.co.uk/v1/places/S45000658

## How to cite

Source: Open Index, openindex.co.uk. Link to this page, https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick, or to one figure with its anchor, https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick#f-population.

Open Index's own text and the figures it works out are licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Source data keeps its publishers' licences, named with each figure. Give each figure's period and source with it.

Snapshot 2026.10.8, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23508850. The HTML page: https://openindex.co.uk/town/prestwick