Photo: Llywelyn2000 · CC BY-SA 4.0A Welsh-speaking town: 50% of Cardigan’s residents speak Welsh
Set against 32% across Wales’s towns, 43% of households are one person living alone in Cardigan. At 38%, the share of married adults and civil partners is lower than in 94% of UK towns. This Dyfed town counted 3,767 residents and 1,843 households at the 2021 Census. Locally, 27% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Cardigan’s people
A Welsh-speaking town
1,841 residents, 50% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 92% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
27% of Cardigan is 65 or over, a higher share than 82% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
10% of residents are aged 15 to 24 (Wales’s towns: 12%). On average, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. More residents are 70–74 than any other five-year age: 6.9% of residents. The median age in Cardigan is 47, higher than in 69% of UK towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cardigan, 47. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 92 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.
Full-time students make up 6.1% in Cardigan, more than in 86% 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%.
By class, a quarter of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 31% in routine and semi-routine work (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). The share of residents who moved in within the year stands at 8.7%. Against that, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households here average 2 people, below 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.
Across Wales’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 27%; Cardigan has 23%. Locally, 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Households in flats make up 17% in Cardigan, more than in 77% 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
Across Cardigan, a fifth of households live in a terraced house. 30% of households live in a detached house, a higher share than in 52% of UK towns.
Residents born outside the UK: 5.1%, a lower share than 63% 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 10%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Where 23% of those born abroad across Wales’s towns arrived in 2017 or later, here the share is 18%. Against that, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (2.4%), then in the Middle East and Asia (1.4%). On residents whose main language is English, Cardigan sits lower than 53% of UK towns: 98%.
Cardigan: 50% of residents speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
50% of residents aged 3 and over, 1,841 people, said in 2021 that they can speak Welsh, more than in 92% of Welsh towns (Welsh towns: 16%). Top of Dyfed: Tumble, at 62%.
Fewer residents who describe themselves as Christian than 79% of UK towns: 45%
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 Cardigan · Dyfed’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents who describe themselves as White British tops 64% of UK towns: 94%. For comparison, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Wales’s towns. Across Cardigan, 48% of residents said they have no religion.
Cardigan: 11% of residents give unpaid care, above 89% of UK towns
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 131. The comparison figure for unpaid carers is 10% across Wales’s towns. Adults who have never married are more common here than in three quarters of UK towns.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
22% of Cardigan’s adults have no qualification (20% across Wales’s towns), and 27% have one at degree level (31%). Many of the 16% whose highest qualification is A levels are students working towards a degree.
Of 530 UK towns its size (3,000 to 5,000 people), the 249th oldest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Cardigan in age: Marsden (47), Hawkhurst (47), South Cave (47.1) and Queniborough (47.1).
Every nearby town is older than Cardigan
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cardigan | 3,767 | — | 47 | 27% | 23% |
| St Dogmaels | 1,013 | 1.1 mi | 55.7 | 33% | 19% |
| Aberporth | 1,075 | 5.8 mi | 54.9 | 35% | 20% |
| Newcastle Emlyn | 1,842 | 8.6 mi | 49.8 | 29% | 23% |
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 Cardigan’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out.
- 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 Cardigan’s residents
What is the population of Cardigan?
The 2021 Census counted 3,767 people in Cardigan’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Cardigan?
The median age was 47 at the 2021 Census, older than 69% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Cardigan?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Dyfed’s towns. 5.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cardigan?
48% said they had no religion and 45% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.1% were Muslim and 5.8% didn’t answer.
Is Cardigan good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Cardigan’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Cardigan?
1,841 residents aged 3 and over, 50%, 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). 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.