Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Council tax at Band D comes to £2,156. A large town in Gwent, Wales, home to 47,075 people.
Cwmbrân’s lowest grade is for safety — 50.5 violent and sexual offences and 19.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only just over one in ten UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. It lags on health as well — 7.8% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 23.2% are disabled. A median £210,000 buys a home here, 4.8 times what households in the Torfaen council area earn in a year. The overall grade lands at D−, better than 2% of UK towns. In the ranking it comes #30 of 38 in Gwent.
Figures: crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS.
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.
The 2 things Cwmbrân does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Cwmbrân is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 28 buildings inside Cwmbrân’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
7% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Cwmbrân. Best known first.
Castle · CadwNewport Castle3.6 km outside town, to the south
CathedralNewport Cathedral4.4 km outside town, to the south
Museum · CadwNational Roman Legion Museum3.8 km outside town, to the southeast
Abbey or prioryLlantarnam Abbey300 m outside town, to the southeast
Museum · CadwCaerleon Roman Fortress Baths3.9 km outside town, to the southeastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cwmbrân.
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 23.4 reports per 1,000, higher than both Gwent’s towns (15) and Wales’s towns (10.4). Reported offences in Cwmbrân came to 5,387 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 1,201. Also worth knowing: 42% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
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.
Between them, 14 primaries and two secondaries teach 6,669 pupils in Cwmbrân. Three of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coed Eva PrimaryLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 458 | – |
| Croesyceiliog SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,185 | – |
| Ysgol Gymraeg CwmbranLargest Welsh-medium schoolPrimary | Primary | 288 | – |
6 GP practices serve the town. 77% of people in Cwmbrân rate their own health good or very good. A disability affects nearly a quarter of people here.
| Census 2021 | Cwmbrân | Gwent | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 7.7% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 22% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 7% of the total, below Gwent’s towns (26%) and Wales’s towns (27%) alike. Grade II* covers 2 of them. One registered park or garden lies in Cwmbrân.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Work in town: just over two fifths of resident commuters. At the census, 12% went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport, lower than both Gwent’s towns (13%) and Wales’s towns (16%). The 2026 claimant rate among 16 to 64s was 3.9%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Social housing holds a quarter of households, above Gwent’s towns (20%) and Wales’s towns (18%) alike. Private rents average £862 a month across the Torfaen council area. Behind the median of £210,000: 1,574 standard sales inside Cwmbrân’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £335,000 | 436 |
| Semi-detached | £230,250 | 372 |
| Terraced | £175,000 | 686 |
| Flat or maisonette | £116,000 | 80 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Cwmbrân has a median age of 42.1 years. A tenth of the population is aged 15 to 24, near Gwent’s towns (11%) and lower than Wales’s towns (12%). People 65 and over make up 21% of the town.
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Cwmbrân | Gwent | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 26% | 26% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 23% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 5.4% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 28% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwent and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
28 listed buildings in Cwmbrân.
Llanyrafon: Photo: M J Roscoe · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Churchyard Cross: Photo: David Roberts · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Llanyrafon Mill: Photo: WelshDave · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aqueduct over Dowlais Brook on Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, partly in Cwmbran Central Community: Photo: WelshDave · CC BY-SA 4.0
29 notable people were born in Cwmbrân.
Danny Gabbidon: Timmy96, CC0 · Jak Jones: Benutzer:Bill da Flute, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tom Richards: Polygoon Hollands Nieuws, CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Kevin Brennan: ©House of Lords / photography by Roger Harris, CC BY 3.0 · Chloe-Beth Morgan: Jose Rosengurtt, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Theo Wharton: Mattythewhite, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cwmbrân | 47,075 | — | D− | C+ | D | D |
| Ponthir | 1,260 | 2.9 | — | D | B+ | B |
| Pontypool | 29,070 | 3.2 | D− | B− | D | D |
| Caerleon | 7,329 | 3.6 | C− | C | C− | B− |
| Risca | 15,194 | 4.1 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Rogerstone | 7,546 | 4.2 | B | C− | B | B |
| Abercarn | 5,123 | 4.4 | C | A− | C− | D |
| Newport | 130,882 | 4.6 | D | B− | D− | D |
Ponthir has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 88% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
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 £116,000, terraced houses £175,000, semi-detached houses £230,250 and detached houses £335,000.
Large town in Gwent, Wales
Cwmbrân is a built-up area of 47,075 people, in the Torfaen 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
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.
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.