Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 9,363 in Gwent, Wales. Band D council tax is £2,083.
Pontllanfraith grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 17% of UK towns, and #13 of 38 in Gwent. Its strongest subject is cost of living (B+): median sale £210,000, 4.9 years of area income; rent £747 a month. Its weakest is health (D): 7.9% in bad or very bad health, 23% 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 thing Pontllanfraith 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 Pontllanfraith is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 11 buildings inside Pontllanfraith’s built-up area, 2 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
14% 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 Pontllanfraith.
The nearest A&E to Pontllanfraith is The Grange University Hospital, 8.4 miles away. 2 GP practices serve the town. At the census, 76% of people in Pontllanfraith called their health good or very good, lower than both Gwent’s towns (77%) and Wales’s towns (78%).
| Census 2021 | Pontllanfraith | Gwent | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 76% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.9% | 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.
One of them is below, with the reason it’s listed. Some 498 pupils attend Pontllanfraith’s three primaries.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bryn Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 178 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 23% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Short trips to work, under 5 km: 44%, above both Gwent’s towns (39%) and Wales’s towns (41%). At the census, 88% of commuters went by car. Pontllanfraith counts 0.6 jobs per working resident.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Violence and sexual offences made up 44% of the total. Reported offences in Pontllanfraith came to 711 over twelve months to August 2026; nuisance and anti-social incidents added 165. Among the 1,308 UK towns of 2,500 to 10,000 people, Pontllanfraith has more crime per resident than 78% of them.
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.
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 14% of the total, below Gwent’s towns (26%) and Wales’s towns (27%) alike. Grade II* covers 2 of them. One scheduled monument lies in Pontllanfraith.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Owners make up 70% of households, above Gwent’s towns (65%) and Wales’s towns (65%) alike. From September 2023 to August 2026, 378 homes sold inside Pontllanfraith’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £210,000. Social renters account for nearly a fifth of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £306,750 | 134 |
| Semi-detached | £190,000 | 174 |
| Terraced | £153,000 | 67 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
People 65 and over make up just over a fifth of the town, higher than both Gwent’s towns (20%) and Wales’s towns (21%). The age that splits Pontllanfraith in two is 43.5. Young adults of 15 to 24 are 11% of the population.
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Pontllanfraith | Gwent | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 24% | 26% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 26% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 22% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 23% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.3% | 5.4% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 28% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwent and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Pontllanfraith. Best known first.
CastleLlancaiach-fawr4.5 km outside town, to the westAttractionAttractionCwmcarn Forest Drive Visitor Centre4 km outside town, to the eastZooZooColliers Adventure Farm3.5 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
11 listed buildings in Pontllanfraith.
Penllwyn, former manor house now Penllwyn Arms public house: Photo: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Mynyddislwyn Urban District Council Offices: Photo: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Shangri La: Photo: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 4.0 · War Memorial: Photo: FruitMonkey · 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontllanfraith | 9,363 | — | C− | B+ | C | D |
| Blackwood | 12,621 | 1.1 | D | B+ | D− | D |
| Fleur-de-lis and Pengam | 3,102 | 1.4 | C− | A− | C | D |
| Maesycwmmer | 2,095 | 1.5 | — | A− | C | D |
| Oakdale | 6,126 | 1.8 | C | B | B− | C− |
| Ystrad Mynach | 11,856 | 1.8 | C− | A− | D | D |
| Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant | 1,411 | 1.9 | — | A− | C− | D |
| Newbridge | 7,582 | 2.3 | C− | A− | C− | C− |
Maesycwmmer 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.
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: terraced houses £153,000, semi-detached houses £190,000 and detached houses £306,750.
Band D council tax in Pontllanfraith is £2,083 for 2026–27, less than in 85% of UK towns (the Caerphilly council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Town in Gwent, Wales
Pontllanfraith is a built-up area of 9,363 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.