Church of St Luke · Photo: Lewis Hulbert · CC BY-SA 3.0In Abercarn, 57% of residents said they have no religion, more than in 98% of UK towns
Half of Abercarn’s residents are under 40.8, younger than in 76% of UK towns. The town counted 5,123 residents and 2,274 households at the 2021 Census. Households in terraced houses: 43% of the total. Where nearly a quarter of households live in a detached house across Wales’s towns, Abercarn has 10%.
Slower than most: +2% since 2011, behind 77% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Abercarn’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 5,400 people in 2011; 5,400 in 2024.
The largest rise in a single year came from mid-2013 to mid-2014: 180 people. The 65 and over group saw the biggest change (+29%), the 16 to 29 group the smallest (−19%).
Below 80% of UK towns: 18% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
One in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, against 12% across Wales’s towns. The usual figure: 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Abercarn, 40.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
4.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 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%.
Where 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns, Abercarn has 5.2%. As a reference point, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A lower share of shared households of unrelated adults than 82% of UK towns, at 1.8%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gwent’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
In Abercarn the average household is 2.3 people, beside 2.3 across Wales’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 3.1% across Wales’s towns, for comparison. Across Abercarn, 33% of households are one person living alone. Compared with other places, households with dependent children are common here: 27%, more than in 51% of UK towns.
17% of households have no car or van, a share 60% 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
The share of households in flats tops 58% of UK towns: 12%. Elsewhere, 21% of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns.
Below 94% of UK towns: 2.8% of residents were born outside the UK
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
Among those born abroad, the share arriving in 2017 or later is 9.2% (Wales’s towns: 23%). The wider picture: 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. 99% of residents have English or Welsh as their main language.
11% of residents speak Welsh in Abercarn
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Asked in 2021, 539 residents aged 3 and over, 11%, said they can speak Welsh; across Welsh towns, 16%: fewer than in 59% of Welsh towns. No town in Gwent beats Abertridwr and Senghenydd (14%).
Only 37% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Abercarn
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: 96% of Abercarn · Gwent’s towns 91% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British; across Wales’s towns the figure is 90%. For comparison, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian across Wales’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Mixed or multiple (1.8%), Other White (1.3%) and Indian (0.4%).
More adults who have never married than 80% of UK towns: 37%
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
Abercarn sits close to the norm on married adults and civil partners: 43%, about the same as across Wales’s towns. To put it in context, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. Locally, 10% of residents give unpaid care.
The share of adults with a degree-level qualification: 26%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 26% of its adults qualified to degree level, Abercarn compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 22% hold no qualification (20%).
Among 516 UK towns of 4,000 to 7,000 people, the 98th youngest
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 65.3 in Barton on Sea. Nearest to Abercarn in age: Hugglescote (40.7), Ushaw Moor and Bearpark (40.8), Shotton (40.9) and Warton (Fylde) (41.2).
6 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Abercarn
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abercarn | 5,123 | — | 40.8 | 18% | 27% |
| Newbridge | 7,582 | 1.6 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Swffryd | 1,721 | 2.4 mi | 41.5 | 19% | 26% |
| Pontllanfraith | 9,363 | 2.6 mi | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Oakdale | 6,126 | 2.8 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 33% |
| Risca | 15,194 | 2.8 mi | 44.1 | 21% | 26% |
| Cwmfelinfach | 1,353 | 2.9 mi | 40.4 | 17% | 27% |
| Blackwood | 12,621 | 3.4 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 27% |
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.
- “Gwent’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gwent (or Wales), summed the same way as Abercarn’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. Abercarn’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 5,446 people in 2021, against 5,123 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 Abercarn’s residents
What is the population of Abercarn?
The 2021 Census counted 5,123 people in Abercarn’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 5,400 people in mid-2024, 2% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Abercarn?
The median age was 40.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 76% of UK towns. 10% of residents were 15 to 24 and 18% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Abercarn?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 91% across Gwent’s towns. 2.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Abercarn?
57% said they had no religion and 37% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Abercarn good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Abercarn’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Abercarn?
539 residents aged 3 and over, 11%, 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.