About Cheviot
Cheviot is physically the smallest of the five area partnerships in Scottish Borders, with the second-smallest population. This was estimated at 19,215 in the 2022 Census. View a map of the Cheviot area.
The main towns in Cheviot are:
- Kelso (7,004)
- Jedburgh (4,131)
St Boswells is the only other settlement with a population over 1k (1,359).
The only other settlement in the locality with a population of over 500 is Yetholm (698).
Annual population estimates for settlements over 500 people are recorded by National Records of Scotland.
31.9% of the population (6,164 people) in Cheviot live in settlements of under 500 people, or in isolated hamlets. Population counts for these settlements are recorded by the decennial Census.
Settlements in Cheviot with a population of less than 500, that were recorded by the 2022 Census, include:
- Ancrum (478)
- Morebattle (383)
- Lanton (235)
- Stichill (222)
- Roxburgh (212)
- Heiton (201)
- Ednam (159)
- Sprouston (157)
- Makerstoun (154)
- Nisbet (130)
- Maxton (128)
- Oxnam and Newbigging (111)
- Smailholm (111)
- Sunlaws village (84)
Population Change
The population of Cheviot increased by 4.2% between 2011 and 2022. There have been some changes at a more local level.
The biggest population increase between 2011 and 2022 in the larger settlements was in the twin villages of Kirk Yetholm and Town Yetholm, with a 26.7% increase.
The population of Kelso has remained unchanged, and the population of Jedburgh has increased by a modest 2.5%.
St Boswells has seen a population decrease of 9% between 2011 and 2022.
Smaller settlements with big population increases between 2011 and 2022 include: Morebattle, Lanton, Roxburgh, Sprouston, Maxton and Makerstoun.
Apart from St Boswells, the only Cheviot villages to have lost population have been Nisbet and Smailholm.