Aberystwyth grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #3 of 23 in Dyfed. Its strongest subject is walkability (A+): 44% of commuters walk, cycle or take public transport. Its weakest is safety (D): 57.8 violent and sexual offences and 16.6 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Among UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has less crime per resident than 8%. The median home sold for £210,000 in the last three years, 4.8 times what households in the Ceredigion council area earn in a year.
Dyfed Powys Police published 32 of the 36 months; rates are per year over the months published. 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 Aberystwyth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Aberystwyth.
Who lives here
Aberystwyth skews young, with 41% of residents aged 15 to 24, more than Dyfed’s towns or Wales’s towns
For Aberystwyth, that is above both Dyfed’s towns (12%) and Wales’s towns (12%). Children are 9.6% of the town. The median resident of Aberystwyth is 25 years old.
25median age
AberystwythDyfedWales
Ages · share of residents
41%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications8%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar38%
Degree level34%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenWalesMen
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
More of the land in Aberystwyth is conservation area than in Dyfed’s towns or Wales’s towns: 19%
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
That puts Aberystwyth above both Dyfed’s towns (0%) and Wales’s towns (0%). For its size, Aberystwyth has 184 listed buildings per 10,000 residents. Aberystwyth’s listed buildings include University College of Wales Old College Building, Grade I.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Safety
Aberystwyth has more crime per resident than 95% of UK towns
Violent crime ran at 57.8 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Dyfed’s towns (38.9) and Wales’s towns (33.8). Police recorded 1,558 crimes inside Aberystwyth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 189 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, Aberystwyth has more crime per resident than 92% of them.
57.8violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearDSafety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 8% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 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 & sexual743
Damage & arson142
Drugs142
Public order137
Shoplifting130
Other theft104
Burglary68
Other crime31
Anti-social189
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.
57.8
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.6
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)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL
Health
Just 4.9% of people in Aberystwyth say their health is bad or very bad, fewer than in Dyfed’s towns and Wales’s towns
On this, Aberystwyth is below both Dyfed’s towns (7.4%) and Wales’s towns (7.1%). Women here live to 82.8 on average and men to 76.3 (2019–23). These answers aren’t adjusted for age, so young towns look healthier; the Health Grade uses age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy.
82%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 82%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 5%
Census 2021
Aberystwyth
Dyfed
Wales
Good or very good health
82%
77%
78%
Bad or very bad health
4.9%
7.4%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
22%
23%
22%
76.3
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
82.8
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.
Roger Rees: Princeton Public Library from Princeton NJ, USA, Public domain · Tom Cullen: Filmwax Radio, CC BY-SA 2.0 · John Ainsworth-Davis: Agence de presse Meurisse, Public domain · Stephen Williams: Martino Photos, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Steve Jones: Michal Maňas, CC BY 3.0 · Stephen Jones: Stefano Delfrate, CC BY-SA 2.0
Llanbadarn Fawr, Bow Street, Penrhyn-coch and Borth have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Aberystwyth
Is Aberystwyth safe?
Police recorded 1,558 crimes inside Aberystwyth’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 48% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
How many listed buildings are there in Aberystwyth?
269 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 17 Grade II*. That is 7.5 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is University College of Wales Old College Building.
Is Aberystwyth expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £210,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £168,000, terraced houses £194,500, semi-detached houses £240,250 and detached houses £332,500.
About Aberystwyth
Town in Dyfed, Wales
Aberystwyth is a built-up area of 14,646 people, in the Ceredigion 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
14,646 (Census 2021)
Council
Ceredigion
County
Dyfed
Region
Wales
Area
1.5 sq mi (3.8 km²)
ONS code
W45000228
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.
