Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0A median age of 50.8: Penperlleni is older than 89% of UK towns
Half of households live in a detached house (Wales’s towns: 24%). There were 621 households in Penperlleni at the 2021 Census, home to 1,396 residents. Locally, 4.3% of households live in a flat or apartment. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as White British are common here: 96%, more than in 87% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Penperlleni’s people
Older than most towns
Half of Penperlleni’s residents are under 50.8 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 27% are 65 or over, against 21% across Wales’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
In Penperlleni, 27% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 80% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
9.1% of residents are aged 15 to 24; across Wales’s towns the figure is 12%. Elsewhere, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 99% of UK towns, at 5.1%
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, just over two in five adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 21% in routine and semi-routine work (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 9.1%. Full-time students: 3.8% of the total.
23% of households have dependent children, below 85% 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.
Nearly a third of households are one person living alone across Wales’s towns, against 29% in Penperlleni. Households with dependent children: 27% across Wales’s towns, for comparison. On average, 2.2 people share a household. At 2.3%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 54% of UK towns.
Penperlleni ranks below 80% of UK towns on households without a car or van: 10%
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
15% of households live in a terraced house, against 29% across Wales’s towns. The comparison figure for households without a car or van is 21% across Wales’s towns.
Below 80% of UK towns: 3.8% 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%
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.1%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (1.1%). Set beside that, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. At 99%, the share of residents whose main language is English is higher than in just over four fifths of UK towns.
Welsh speakers make up 9.6% of Penperlleni
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
The 2021 Census found 131 Welsh speakers aged 3 and over, 9.6% of that age group, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 73% of them. Within Gwent, Abertridwr and Senghenydd has the largest share, 14%.
Penperlleni ranks above 72% of UK towns on residents who describe themselves as Christian: 53%
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 Penperlleni · Gwent’s towns 91% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Other White (1.9%), Mixed or multiple (1.3%) and Indian (0.3%). Penperlleni has fewer residents with no religion than 62% of UK towns, at 39%. Residents who describe themselves as Christian make up 43% across Wales’s towns.
Penperlleni sits above 89% of UK towns for married adults and civil partners (55%)
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
10% of residents give unpaid care across Wales’s towns, against 12% in Penperlleni. Set beside that, 43% of adults are married or in a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. Across Penperlleni, 28% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
39% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Penperlleni counts 39% of its adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; at the other end, 16% have no qualification (20%).
2 in 7 nearby towns have a higher median age than Penperlleni
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Penperlleni | 1,396 | — | 50.8 | 27% | 23% |
| Abersychan | 7,495 | 3.6 mi | 41.4 | 19% | 30% |
| Pontypool | 29,070 | 3.6 mi | 43 | 21% | 28% |
| Usk | 2,310 | 4.4 mi | 52.8 | 32% | 17% |
| Blaenavon | 5,637 | 4.9 mi | 40.2 | 19% | 29% |
| Llanfoist | 2,007 | 5.5 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 33% |
| Raglan | 1,176 | 5.8 mi | 56 | 36% | 20% |
| Abergavenny | 13,689 | 6.4 mi | 48.9 | 27% | 23% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “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 Penperlleni’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 Penperlleni’s residents
What is the population of Penperlleni?
The 2021 Census counted 1,396 people in Penperlleni’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Penperlleni?
The median age was 50.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.1% of residents were 15 to 24 and 27% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Penperlleni?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 91% across Gwent’s towns. 3.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Penperlleni?
39% said they had no religion and 53% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.1% were Muslim and 6.6% didn’t answer.
Is Penperlleni good for families?
23% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Penperlleni’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Penperlleni?
131 residents aged 3 and over, 9.6%, 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.