Photo: NoelWalley at en.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0Penrhyn Bay is older than 96% of UK towns: a median age of 54.6
Terraced houses are home to 7.7% of households, against 29% across Wales’s towns. Across Penrhyn Bay, just over half of households live in a detached house. 57% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 89% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 4,201, in 1,997 households.
What the Census says about Penrhyn Bay’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Penrhyn Bay’s residents are under 54.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 34% are 65 or over, against 21% across Wales’s towns. Ages ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Penrhyn Bay at 4,900 in 2011 and 4,600 in 2024, down 7%, against 4% for Wales: slower growth than in 99% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
A Welsh-speaking town
853 residents, 21% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 75% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Penrhyn Bay changed by −7% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 99% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Penrhyn Bay’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 4,900 people in 2011; 4,600 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+15%) and the 0 to 15 least (−26%).
Residents aged 65 and over: 34%, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: nearly one in ten residents, 1.6 times the share across Wales’s towns. The usual figure: 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. Here, 7.6% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Penrhyn Bay, 54.6. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women. Women live longer than men, so towns with many older residents have more women.
Penrhyn Bay sits below 85% of UK towns for residents who moved in within the year (6.9%)
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
Set against 8% across Wales’s towns, 5% of adults are full-time students in Penrhyn Bay. Typically, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
21% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 93% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
The typical household size is 2.1 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. The benchmark for households with dependent children across Wales’s towns: 27%. For Penrhyn Bay, the census puts one-person households at 33%. This Clwyd town has fewer shared households of unrelated adults than just over three fifths of UK towns, at 2.2%.
10% of households have no car or van, fewer than in 80% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
Compared with 14% across Wales’s towns, 5.9% of households live in a flat or apartment here. The wider picture: just over a fifth of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns.
A larger share of residents whose main language is English than 62% of UK towns: 98%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The largest groups were born in EU countries (2.5%) and in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). Across Wales’s towns, 96% of residents have English as their main language. 5.6% of residents were born outside the UK; across Wales’s towns the figure is 7.4%.
Welsh speakers make up 21% of Penrhyn Bay
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 21% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (853 people): more than in 75% of Welsh towns. No town in Clwyd beats Llanfairfechan (44%).
Only 35% of residents said they have no religion in Penrhyn Bay
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 94% of Penrhyn Bay · Clwyd’s towns 92% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Other than White British, most residents describe themselves as Other White (2.5%), Mixed or multiple (1.1%) and Arab (0.3%). Residents who describe themselves as White British are more common here than in 70% of UK towns. The usual figure: 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns.
Penrhyn Bay sits below 91% of UK towns for adults who have never married (25%)
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
For 134 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Against that, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. On married adults and civil partners, Penrhyn Bay sits higher than 80% of UK towns: 53%. Little separates the share of unpaid carers here, 9.8%, from the figure across Wales’s towns.
Among adults, 37% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
14% of Penrhyn Bay’s adults have no qualification (20% across Wales’s towns), and 37% have one at degree level (31%).
695 UK towns of 3,000 to 6,000 people: this is the 42nd oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 18.9 in Bailrigg to 64.7 in Sutton on Sea and Trusthorpe. Nearest to Penrhyn Bay in age: Long Melford (54.5), Freckleton (54.6), Kinver (54.7) and Cowbridge (54.8).
Penrhyn Bay is older than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penrhyn Bay | 4,201 | — | 54.6 | 34% | 21% |
| Llandudno | 14,699 | 2.1 mi | 50.4 | 28% | 20% |
| Colwyn Bay | 29,273 | 2.4 mi | 47.3 | 26% | 25% |
| Conwy | 15,706 | 2.6 mi | 48.7 | 27% | 24% |
| Llansanffraid Glan Conwy | 1,663 | 3.6 mi | 51.9 | 29% | 20% |
| Mynydd Marian | 1,351 | 5.5 mi | 39.8 | 15% | 34% |
| Dwygyfylchi | 1,403 | 5.7 mi | 50.6 | 26% | 23% |
| Llanddulas | 1,097 | 5.8 mi | 53.2 | 32% | 20% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Clwyd’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Clwyd (or Wales), summed the same way as Penrhyn Bay’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Penrhyn Bay’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 4,590 people in 2021, against 4,201 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Penrhyn Bay’s residents
What is the population of Penrhyn Bay?
The 2021 Census counted 4,201 people in Penrhyn Bay’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 4,600 people in mid-2024, 7% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Penrhyn Bay?
The median age was 54.6 at the 2021 Census, older than 96% of UK towns. 7.6% of residents were 15 to 24 and 34% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Penrhyn Bay?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 92% across Clwyd’s towns. 5.6% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penrhyn Bay?
35% said they had no religion and 57% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.5% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Penrhyn Bay good for families?
21% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Penrhyn Bay’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Penrhyn Bay?
853 residents aged 3 and over, 21%, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067, TS032) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.