East Ayrshire

§ This page gives an overview of the East Ayrshire local authority district, bringing together key facts, maps, and data to help you quickly understand the area. One of 361 district profiles on Baseview.

Overview ⁞ East Ayrshire lies inland from the Firth of Clyde, with the main towns of Kilmarnock and Cumnock. It has an industrial heritage in coal mining and textiles, now shifting towards manufacturing, services, and tourism linked to Robert Burns country.

The administrative boundary of East Ayrshire can be viewed on OpenStreetMap: District Boundary of East Ayrshire.

Map of East Ayrshire
Administrative Boundary of East Ayrshire (Local Authority District)

Key Facts about East Ayrshire

What region is East Ayrshire in? East Ayrshire is in Scotland, a statistical region and also a country in United Kingdom.

Is East Ayrshire a city? No, East Ayrshire is not a city. (Note: the UK has 76 officially designated cities.)

Who governs East Ayrshire? The local government for this district is: East Ayrshire Council (Scotland Council Area).

▶ Official website of East Ayrshire Council 🔗 east-ayrshire.gov.uk

Website of East Ayrshire Council
Website of East Ayrshire Council (captured on 2025-09-20)

Which police force covers East Ayrshire? Policing in East Ayrshire is provided by Police Scotland 🔗 scotland.police.uk, which covers the whole of Scotland.

East Ayrshire in International Geographies

In the International Territorial Levels (ITLs) hierarchy, East Ayrshire is within an ITLs Level 3 area:

  1. (ITL 1) Scotland
  2. (ITL 2) ⇒ Southern Scotland
  3. (ITL 3) ⇒⇒ North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire

The International Territorial Levels are used by OECD member countries for statistical purposes to classify administrative areas. We have this listable page for easy browsing of ITL names and codes: International Territorial Levels.

This district page, East Ayrshire, is a sub-page of this region page: Scotland. It zooms in to local authorities and parliamentary constituencies, and provides a list of wards in this district. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK local authority districts: List of Local Authority Districts.

Constituencies in East Ayrshire

A constituency is a specific geographical area that elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to represent them in the House of Commons. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, 57 of them are in Scotland. We have this list page for easy browsing of all UK parliamentary constituencies: List of Constituencies.

Wards in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire is divided into 9 wards, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Annick
  • Ballochmyle
  • Cumnock and New Cumnock
  • Doon Valley
  • Irvine Valley
  • Kilmarnock East and Hurlford
  • Kilmarnock North
  • Kilmarnock South
  • Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse

In the UK, a ward is a subdivision of a local authority area, used mainly for electoral and statistical purposes. Defined by the ONS, wards represent the primary unit for local elections, each returning one or more councillors to the local council. Wards are also used as a key geography for presenting population and census data.

Built-up Areas in East Ayrshire

East Ayrshire covers 27 built-up areas, listed below in alphabetical order.

  • Auchinleck
  • Bellsbank
  • Catrine
  • Crosshouse
  • Crossroads
  • Cumnock
  • Dalmellington
  • Dalrymple *
  • Darvel
  • Drongan *
  • Dunlop
  • Fenwick
  • Galston
  • Hurlford
  • Kilmarnock
  • Kilmaurs
  • Logan
  • Mauchline
  • Muirkirk
  • New Cumnock
  • Newmilns
  • Ochiltree
  • Patna
  • Springside *
  • Stewarton
  • Uplawmoor *
  • Waterside

In the UK, a Built-up Area (BUA) is a continuous urban area of at least 20 hectares (0.2 km²), defined by the ONS as land where buildings are generally no more than 200 metres apart, such as towns, cities, or large villages. (Note: A BUA name marked with an asterisk (*) indicates that the area is situated partly in the district of East Ayrshire.)