Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,235 in Gwent, Wales.
Nelson grades C overall against UK towns: better than 26% of UK towns, and #8 of 38 in Gwent. Its strongest subject is cost of living (B+): median sale £192,500, 4.5 years of area income; rent £747 a month. Its weakest is health (D): 8.9% in bad or very bad health, 25% disabled (adjusted for age in the grade).
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 3 things Nelson 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 Nelson is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 2 buildings inside Nelson’s built-up area.
28% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Nelson.
Women here live to 80.7 on average and men to 77 (2019–23). At the census, a quarter of people here had a disability, above Gwent’s towns (22%) and Wales’s towns (22%) alike. Also worth knowing: the nearest A&E to Nelson is The Royal Glamorgan Hospital, 8.4 miles away. One GP practice serves the town.
| Census 2021 | Nelson | Gwent | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8.9% | 7.7% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 25% | 22% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy.
It is listed below. The town’s primary school has 240 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | – |
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.
10% of commuters walked, cycled or took the bus or train at the census, below Gwent’s towns (13%) and Wales’s towns (16%) alike. A household here earns £46K a year before tax, on average. Of the commuters living in Nelson, 8% work in the town itself. In 2026, 2.6% of 16 to 64s were claiming unemployment benefits.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The owner-occupied share of households is 73%. The £192,500 median rests on 132 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). 17% of households live in social housing.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £350,000 | 17 |
| Semi-detached | £221,250 | 62 |
| Terraced | £154,000 | 53 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Nelson’s land, 3% lies in conservation areas, above both Gwent’s towns (0%) and Wales’s towns (0%). Homes built before 1919 account for 28% of the housing.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Burglary and damage came to 16.3 per 1,000 residents a year, about level with Gwent’s towns (16.7) and above Wales’s towns (10.7). Police recorded 266 crimes inside Nelson’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 31 reports of anti-social behaviour. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Nelson has more crime per resident than three quarters of them. Of all the crimes, 49% were 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.
Residents of Nelson have a median age of 48.6. Children under 15 make up 15%, lower than both Gwent’s towns (18%) and Wales’s towns (17%). Aged 15 to 24: 11% of 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.
| Nelson | Gwent | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 15% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 26% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 26% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 26% | 23% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.4% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 26% | 28% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwent and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson | 4,235 | — | C | B+ | C | D |
| Trelewis | 2,022 | 1.2 | — | B− | C | D |
| Treharris | 5,042 | 1.3 | D | B− | C+ | D |
| Gelligaer | 1,436 | 1.6 | — | A | D− | D− |
| Abercynon | 6,376 | 2.1 | D | B+ | C− | D− |
| Pen-pedair-heol | 3,787 | 2.2 | C+ | B+ | B+ | D |
| Ystrad Mynach | 11,856 | 2.3 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant | 1,411 | 2.7 | — | A− | C− | D |
Trelewis, Gelligaer and Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
2 on Cadw’s list.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £192,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £154,000, semi-detached houses £221,250 and detached houses £350,000.
Town in Gwent, Wales
Nelson is a built-up area of 4,235 people, in the Caerphilly 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.