Photo: Roger Cornfoot · CC BY-SA 2.0Younger than 93% of UK towns: half of Gelligaer is under 36.5
90% of residents describe themselves as White British across Wales’s towns, against 97% in Gelligaer. Households in detached houses account for 5.3%. At 11%, the share of households in terraced houses is lower than in 88% of UK towns. The village had 1,436 residents in 662 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Gelligaer’s people
More with no religion than most
68% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 27% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Gelligaer’s residents are under 36.5 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 14% are 15 to 24 and 16% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
Many carers
178 residents gave unpaid care to someone with an illness, disability or old age in 2021, 13% of those 5 and over: more than in 99% of UK towns. Relationships & caring ↓
A village of flats
32% of households live in a flat or maisonette, more than in 96% of UK towns. 37% have no car or van. Homes & cars ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Gelligaer sits below 86% of UK towns for residents aged 65 and over (16%)
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 50–54: 8.6% of residents, 1.3 times the share across Wales’s towns. 14% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 96% of UK towns. To put it in context, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
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.
Gelligaer ranks below 90% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 6.7%
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%.
Managerial and professional jobs take in 13% of adults here, routine and semi-routine work 36% (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). As a yardstick, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns. Full-time students: 5.1% of the total.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Gelligaer, 37% of households are one person living alone, more than in 93% of UK towns
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.
Households average 2.2 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. Measured more widely, 32% of households are one person living alone across Wales’s towns. On the census count, 2.9% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home.
Gelligaer ranks above 99% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 37%
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
Households in flats make up 32%, against 14% across Wales’s towns. About one household in 3 lives without a car or van.
Only 2.5% of Gelligaer’s 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
96% of residents have English as their main language across Wales’s towns, against 99% in Gelligaer. The largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Typically, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns.
Welsh in Gelligaer: 9.8% of residents speak it
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Welsh speakers number 133, or 9.8% of residents aged 3 and over, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 72% of them. In Gwent, Abertridwr and Senghenydd has the highest share (14%).
Residents with no religion: 68%, a higher share than 99% 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: 97% of Gelligaer · Gwent’s towns 91% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
In Gelligaer, 27% of residents describe themselves as Christian, beside 43% across Wales’s towns. The groups that follow White British are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1%) and Indian (0.1%). Set beside that, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns.
A higher share of unpaid carers than 99% of UK towns, at 13%
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
82 residents care, unpaid, for at least 50 hours a week. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 32% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. Against that, one in ten residents give unpaid care across Wales’s towns. Here 46% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 38%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 15%
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 Gelligaer, 39%, while 15% hold one at degree level (31%).
Every neighbour of Gelligaer has an older population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gelligaer | 1,436 | — | 36.5 | 16% | 32% |
| Pen-pedair-heol | 3,787 | 0.7 mi | 46.9 | 23% | 25% |
| Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant | 1,411 | 1.2 mi | 39.9 | 17% | 32% |
| Ystrad Mynach | 11,856 | 1.4 mi | 39.5 | 16% | 32% |
| Nelson | 4,235 | 1.6 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 25% |
| Fleur-de-lis and Pengam | 3,102 | 1.6 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Trelewis | 2,022 | 1.7 mi | 37.1 | 16% | 37% |
| Bargod | 8,034 | 1.9 mi | 41.4 | 21% | 28% |
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 Gelligaer’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 Gelligaer’s residents
What is the population of Gelligaer?
The 2021 Census counted 1,436 people in Gelligaer’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Gelligaer?
The median age was 36.5 at the 2021 Census. 14% of residents were 15 to 24 and 16% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gelligaer?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 91% across Gwent’s towns. 2.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gelligaer?
68% said they had no religion and 27% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 4.5% didn’t answer.
Is Gelligaer good for families?
32% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Gelligaer’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Gelligaer?
133 residents aged 3 and over, 9.8%, 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.