Pen-y-ffordd’s story
Pen-y-ffordd: 31% of homes built before 1919
31% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Pen-y-fforddClwyd
The village has 841 residents and lies in Clwyd, Wales.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Dot Potter · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
841
Census 2021 · Flintshire council
Median home
£170K
24 sales in 3 years
Median age
40.4
20% are 65+ · Clwyd 23%
Degree level
23%
of residents 16+ · Wales 31%
Walk, cycle, bus
8%
of commuters · Wales 16%
Is Pen-y-ffordd a good place to live?
Towns under 1,000 residents aren’t graded, so Pen-y-ffordd has no grades; its figures are still real. 8% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. Pre-1919 homes make up 31% of the housing. Homes change hands at a median £170,000.
What makes Pen-y-ffordd stand out
The 3 things Pen-y-ffordd does most differently from other towns.
Walk, cycle or public transport
Getting around
8% leave the car
of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport (Wales’s towns 16%)
Homes built before 1919
History
Against 15% in the typical UK town
Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period.
Median sale, £ thousands
Housing
39% below the typical UK town’s £277K
Standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pen-y-ffordd.
Work & commute
4.8% of 16 to 64s in Pen-y-ffordd claim unemployment benefits, more than in both Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 15% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Pen-y-ffordd counts 0.8 jobs per working resident. Work in town: 7% of resident commuters. Short trips to work, under 5 km: 14%, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (39%) and Wales’s towns (41%). Households take home £41K a year before tax, on average.
8%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving89%
On foot5%
Bus2%
14%
of commuters travel under 5 km · Wales 41%
15%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£41K
mean household income, before tax
4.8%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Schools
2 state schools in Pen-y-ffordd
All of them are below. Some 153 pupils attend Pen-y-ffordd’s two primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol Bryn GarthLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 85 | – |
| Ysgol Gymraeg MornantLargest Welsh-medium schoolPrimary | Primary | 68 | – |
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 2 schools →
Housing
Social housing is more common in Pen-y-ffordd than in Clwyd’s towns or across Wales’s towns, at 30% of households
11% rent privately, below Clwyd’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%) alike. Households that own their home make up 57%. From September 2023 to August 2026, 24 homes sold inside Pen-y-ffordd’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £170,000.
£170Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Pen-y-ffordd£170K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £281,250 | 8 |
| Semi-detached | £150,000 | 13 |
57%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
11%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£811
average private rent a month, Flintshire council area
£2,376
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Burglary and damage are rarer in Pen-y-ffordd than in Clwyd’s towns or across Wales’s towns: 4 per 1,000 residents a year
Violent crime ran at 29.3 per 1,000 residents a year, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (34.4) and Wales’s towns (33.8). A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 37 offences in Pen-y-ffordd and 14 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 57% of recorded crime.
29.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual21
Public order7
Damage & arson4
Other theft2
Other crime2
Drugs1
Shoplifting0
Burglary0
Anti-social14
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
29.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
15.1
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
37
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
Health
Most people in Pen-y-ffordd (78%) report good or very good health
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 5.8% of the town. Pen-y-ffordd has no GP practice of its own; the nearest is 3.9 miles away. The nearest A&E to Pen-y-ffordd is Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, 8.7 miles away.
78%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 78%Fair 17%Bad or very bad 6%
| Census 2021 | Pen-y-ffordd | Clwyd | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 79% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 5.8% | 6.5% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 22% | 22% | 22% |
Welsh towns’ Health Grades use ONS’s small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2019 to 2023, and two Census 2021 measures, bad health and disability, adjusted for age. English towns’ also use OHID’s small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy.
History
Pen-y-ffordd keeps more of its old housing than Clwyd’s towns or Wales’s towns: 31% built before 1919
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cadw’s list has no building inside Pen-y-ffordd’s built-up area.
0listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Cadw
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
31%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
A town of families: 19% of people in Pen-y-ffordd are under 15, more than in both Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
People 65 and over make up a fifth of the town, about level with Wales’s towns (21%) and below Clwyd’s towns (23%). The age that splits Pen-y-ffordd in two is 40.4. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 12% of residents.
40.4median age
Pen-y-fforddClwydWales
Ages · share of residents
12%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications22%
Apprenticeship7%
A levels or similar19%
Degree level23%
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Pen-y-ffordd | Clwyd | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 12% | 10% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 23% | 23% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 23% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 20% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.1% | 6.5% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 17% | 17% |
| Degree level | 23% | 29% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Clwyd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Pen-y-ffordd
13pages on Pen-y-ffordd
The big questions
Safety29.3 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £170K · rent £811 a monthHousing14 sold in 12 months · busiest street Picton RoadSchools2 state schools (no results published in Wales)HealthWork & commute35% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards0% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Pen-y-ffordd’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
MelidenPrestatynDyserthHolywellBagilltCaldyWest KirbyPen-y-ffordd
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pen-y-ffordd | 841 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Meliden | 2,002 | 4.4 | — | A− | C | C |
| Prestatyn | 16,678 | 4.6 | C− | A− | C− | C− |
| Dyserth | 2,038 | 4.8 | — | B+ | B− | C |
| Holywell | 7,741 | 4.9 | D | A− | D | D |
| Bagillt | 5,943 | 6 | D | A− | C− | D |
| Caldy | 1,227 | 6.2 | — | D− | A | A+ |
| West Kirby | 13,383 | 6.3 | A | D | B+ | A− |
Meliden, Dyserth and Caldy have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Pen-y-ffordd
Is Pen-y-ffordd expensive to live in?
By type: semi-detached houses £150,000 and detached houses £281,250. Private rents in the Flintshire council area averaged £811 a month in August 2026.
How much is council tax in Pen-y-ffordd?
Band D council tax in Pen-y-ffordd is £2,376 for 2026–27, less than in 63% of UK towns (the Flintshire council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Pen-y-ffordd
Village in Clwyd, Wales
Pen-y-ffordd is a built-up area of 841 people, in the Flintshire council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
- Population
- 841 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Flintshire
- County
- Clwyd
- Region
- Wales
- Area
- 0.1 sq mi (0.2 km²)
- ONS code
- W45000019
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Cadw listed buildings, scheduled monuments and registered historic parks and gardens via DataMapWales, October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.