Ruthin grades B− overall against UK towns: better than 50% of UK towns, and #8 of 39 in Clwyd. Its strongest subject is walkability (B+): 19% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (C−): 39.8 violent and sexual offences and 9.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 19%. The median home sold for £220,000 in the last three years, 5 times what households in the Denbighshire council area earn in a year.
This town's Health Grade uses 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' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Ruthin is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Ruthin.
History
More of the land in Ruthin is conservation area than in Clwyd’s towns or Wales’s towns: 17%
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Only one town in Clwyd has more listed buildings for its size than Ruthin. The town’s listed buildings include Nantclwyd House, Grade I. Of the town’s 196 listed buildings on Cadw’s list, Grade I counts 3 and Grade II* 22.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 5 schools →
Safety
Per resident, Ruthin sees more crime than 78% of UK towns
Violence and sexual offences were 61% of the crimes. In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 386 crimes and 106 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Ruthin’s built-up area. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Ruthin has more crime per resident than just over four fifths of them.
39.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 19% of the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people: more crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual235
Damage & arson33
Other theft27
Public order25
Shoplifting20
Burglary16
Drugs10
Weapons8
Anti-social106
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.
39.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
9.6
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.2
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C−
Fewer people aged 16 to 64 in Ruthin claim unemployment benefits than in Clwyd’s towns or Wales’s towns: 2.5%
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Jobs per working resident: 1.7. Work in town: 36% of resident commuters. The car took 80% of commuters, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (83%) and Wales’s towns (81%).
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Who lives here
Older residents shape Ruthin: 25% are 65 or over, above Clwyd’s towns and Wales’s towns
Typical age in Ruthin: 46, the median. People aged 15 to 24 make up 11% of the town, between Clwyd’s towns (10%) and Wales’s towns (12%). Children under 15 count for 16% of the people here.
46median age
RuthinClwydWales
Ages · share of residents
25%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications15%
Apprenticeship6%
A levels or similar15%
Degree level36%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenWalesMen
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Clwyd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B+
For cost of living grade, Ruthin gets a B+
Private rents average £718 a month across the Denbighshire council area. 18% rent privately, above both Clwyd’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%). Half of the 192 standard sales inside Ruthin’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 went for more than £220,000.
£220Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Ruthin£220K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£290,000
71
Semi-detached
£205,000
65
Terraced
£147,500
40
Flat or maisonette
£108,750
16
18%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£718
average private rent a month, Denbighshire council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
81% of people in Ruthin say their health is good or very good, more than in Clwyd’s towns or across Wales’s towns
Disability touches nearly a fifth of Ruthin’s population. At the census, 4.9% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, lower than both Clwyd’s towns (6.5%) and Wales’s towns (7.1%). The nearest A&E to Ruthin is Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, 13.3 miles away. Men in Ruthin can expect to live to 81.4, women to 85.4 (2019–23).
81%good or very good healthBHealth Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 81%Fair 14%Bad or very bad 5%
Census 2021
Ruthin
Clwyd
Wales
Good or very good health
81%
79%
78%
Bad or very bad health
4.9%
6.5%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
19%
22%
22%
81.4
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
85.4
life expectancy at birth, women
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 · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Read these answers with age in mind: they aren’t adjusted, so younger places do better. The Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, life expectancy among them.
Nearby attractions
Ruthin Castle and 3 more in and around Ruthin
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Ruthin. Best known first.
Tom Pryce: Christian Sinclair, CC BY 2.0 · Daisy, Princess of Pless: James Lafayette, Public domain · Constance Lewis: James Lafayette, Public domain · Llŷr Ifans: Medwyn Jones, CC BY 2.0 · George Cornwallis-West: Henry Walter Barnett, Public domain · Henry Haydn Jones: The Welsh Press Company Limited, Cyhoeddwyr, Public domain
Soughton, Leeswood, Northop and Pentre Halkyn have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Ruthin
How many listed buildings are there in Ruthin?
196 on Cadw’s list, 3 of them Grade I and 22 Grade II*. That is 14.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include Ruthin Castle. It also has 3 scheduled monuments.
Is Ruthin expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £220,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £108,750, terraced houses £147,500, semi-detached houses £205,000 and detached houses £290,000.
About Ruthin
Town in Clwyd, Wales
Ruthin is a built-up area of 5,700 people, in the Denbighshire 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
5,700 (Census 2021)
Council
Denbighshire
County
Clwyd
Region
Wales
Area
1 sq mi (2.5 km²)
ONS code
W45000129
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.
