Photo: Llywelyn2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0A median age of 25: Aberystwyth is younger than 99% of UK towns
Across Wales’s towns, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership; in Aberystwyth, 65%. One-person households are more common here than in 96% of UK towns. The 2021 Census put the town’s population at 14,646, in 5,239 households. Census figures put residents who describe themselves as Christian at 35% in the town.
What the Census says about Aberystwyth’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 5,537 full-time students aged 16 and over, 42% of adults, against 8% across Wales’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 41% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Aberystwyth’s residents are under 25 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 41% are 15 to 24 and 14% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A town people move to
28% of residents gave a different address a year before the 2021 Census, 3 times the share across Wales’s towns, and 10% gave a term-time address. Students & newcomers ↓
A Welsh-speaking town
4,179 residents, 29% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 81% 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.
A change of −3% since 2011 leaves Aberystwyth behind 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Aberystwyth’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 15,400 people in 2011; 15,000 in 2024.
Split by age, the 45 to 64 changed most (+10%) and the 16 to 29 least (−12%).
Residents aged 15 to 24 make up 41% in Aberystwyth, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 14%, below 92% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Wales’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Aberystwyth, 25. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
42% of adults are full-time students, more than in 99% of UK towns
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%.
Leave the students aside and Aberystwyth’s other adults differ from Wales’s: 39% are in managerial and professional jobs, against 32%. Compared with other places, residents who moved in within the year are common here: 28%, more than in 99% of UK towns. For full-time students, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 8%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 19%, a lower share than 97% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Dyfed’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
A household here has 2.2 people on average; across Wales’s towns, 2.3. Shared households of unrelated adults: 13% of the total. Elsewhere, 27% of households have dependent children across Wales’s towns.
33% of households have no car or van, a share 98% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Across Wales’s towns, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment; in Aberystwyth, 34%. In one household in 3 there is no car or van, the highest share in Dyfed. 17% of households live in a detached house.
16% of residents were born outside the UK, more than in 88% of UK towns
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 20%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
The newest arrivals, from 2017 or later, are nearly half of those born abroad (against 23% across Wales’s towns). Across Wales’s towns, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK. Residents whose main language is English account for 92%.
Aberystwyth: 29% of residents speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Some 4,179 people here aged 3 and over said in 2021 that they can speak Welsh, 29% of the total, against 16% across Welsh towns: more than in 81% of them. Tumble leads Dyfed with 62%.
Aberystwyth: 51% of residents said they have no religion, above 96% of UK towns
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: 81% of Aberystwyth · Dyfed’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (10%), Mixed or multiple (2.4%) and Indian (1.2%). The share of residents with no religion across Wales’s towns is 47%. On residents who describe themselves as White British, Aberystwyth sits lower than 84% of UK towns: 81%.
Below 99% of UK towns: 23% of adults are married or in a civil partnership
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
Heavy unpaid care, 50 hours a week or more, falls to 279 residents. The comparison figure for married adults and civil partners is 43% across Wales’s towns. Compared with other places, unpaid carers are scarce here: 7.3%, fewer than in 94% of UK towns.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 34%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Wales’s towns, 20% of adults have no qualification; in Aberystwyth, 8.4%, while 34% hold one at degree level (31%). Many still at university: 38% list A levels as their highest qualification.
From a median age of 24 in Aberystwyth North to 53 in Rheidol, Ystwyth & Caron
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Rheidol, Ystwyth & Caron is the oldest area, with 36% aged 65 or over; Aberystwyth North the youngest (median age 24). Students cluster in Aberystwyth North, where 56% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Aberystwyth South (27% of households).
1st lowest median age among 384 UK towns of 10,000 to 20,000
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Aberystwyth in age: Bangor (26.4) and Stoke Gifford (27.8).
The towns around Aberystwyth are all older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberystwyth | 14,646 | — | 25 | 14% | 19% |
| Llanbadarn Fawr | 1,766 | 0.6 mi | 40.3 | 20% | 22% |
| Bow Street | 1,101 | 2.9 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 26% |
| Penrhyn-coch | 1,378 | 3.8 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Borth | 1,115 | 5 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 18% |
| Tywyn | 3,134 | 11.7 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 17% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Dyfed’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Dyfed (or Wales), summed the same way as Aberystwyth’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. Aberystwyth’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 14,171 people in 2021, against 14,646 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 Aberystwyth’s residents
What is the population of Aberystwyth?
The 2021 Census counted 14,646 people in Aberystwyth’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 15,000 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Aberystwyth?
The median age was 25 at the 2021 Census, younger than 99% of UK towns. 41% of residents were 15 to 24 and 14% were 65 or over.
Is Aberystwyth a student town?
Yes: 42% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (5,537 people), against 8% across Wales’s towns. In Aberystwyth North, 56% of adults were students.
How diverse is Aberystwyth?
81% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Dyfed’s towns. 16% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aberystwyth?
51% said they had no religion and 35% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.7% were Muslim and 9.6% didn’t answer.
Is Aberystwyth good for families?
19% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Families are most common in Aberystwyth South (27% of households). Schools are on Aberystwyth’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Aberystwyth?
4,179 residents aged 3 and over, 29%, 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 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.