Photo: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0Pontllanfraith sits above 99% of UK towns for residents with no religion (58%)
28% of households are one person living alone (Wales’s towns: 32%). Census figures put households in flats at 5.9% in Pontllanfraith. At 21%, the share of households in detached houses is lower than in 72% of UK towns. The town counted 9,363 residents and 4,022 households at the 2021 Census.
What the Census says about Pontllanfraith’s people
More with no religion than most
58% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 36% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Pontllanfraith at 10,400 in 2011 and 10,100 in 2024, down 2%, against 4% for Wales: slower growth than in 93% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
−2% since 2011: slower than 93% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Pontllanfraith’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 10,400 people in 2011; 10,100 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+24%) and the 0 to 15 least (−16%).
Pontllanfraith is younger than 58% of UK towns: a median age of 43.5
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The largest age band is 55–59: 7% of residents. Pontllanfraith has more residents aged 15 to 24 than 78% of UK towns, at 11%. In Abergavenny, the oldest of Gwent’s towns by this measure, it is 27%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pontllanfraith, 43.5. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
In Pontllanfraith, 6.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
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%.
With full-time students at 5.5%, Pontllanfraith is ahead of 73% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Pontllanfraith households average 2.3 people, larger than in 60% 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.
Across Wales’s towns, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is 3.1%; Pontllanfraith has 2%. In Pontllanfraith, 27% of households have dependent children.
A higher share of households without a car or van than 63% of UK towns, at 18%
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
Compared with 29% across Wales’s towns, 19% of households live in a terraced house here. For households without a car or van, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 21%.
A lower share of residents born outside the UK than 97% of UK towns, at 2.3%
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
96% of residents have English as their main language across Wales’s towns, against 99% in Pontllanfraith. Across Wales’s towns, the share of residents born outside the UK is 7.4%. By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.3%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%).
8.6% of people in Pontllanfraith speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Asked in 2021, 784 residents aged 3 and over, 8.6%, said they can speak Welsh; across Welsh towns, 16%: fewer than in 82% of Welsh towns. The highest share in Gwent belongs to Abertridwr and Senghenydd (14%).
97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 97% 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 Pontllanfraith · Gwent’s towns 91% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Across Wales’s towns, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian; in Pontllanfraith, 36%. The wider picture: 90% of residents describe themselves as White British across Wales’s towns.
35% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, a share 67% of UK towns don’t reach
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
Unpaid carers giving 50 hours or more a week: 375. At 11%, the share of unpaid carers is higher than in 93% of UK towns. The share of adults who have never married across Wales’s towns is 38%. The figure for married adults and civil partners is 46% in Pontllanfraith and 43% across Wales’s towns.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 25% of adults
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 Pontllanfraith, 24%, while 25% hold one at degree level (31%).
413 UK towns of 7,000 to 13,000 people: this is the 171st youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 28.4 in Tidworth to 61 in Seaton. Nearest to Pontllanfraith in age: Baldock (43.5), Denbigh (43.5), Killingworth (43.6) and Penistone (43.6).
Nearby, 4 of 7 towns have older populations than Pontllanfraith
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontllanfraith | 9,363 | — | 43.5 | 22% | 27% |
| Blackwood | 12,621 | 1.1 mi | 45.5 | 23% | 27% |
| Fleur-de-lis and Pengam | 3,102 | 1.4 mi | 44.4 | 21% | 28% |
| Maesycwmmer | 2,095 | 1.5 mi | 46.1 | 24% | 25% |
| Oakdale | 6,126 | 1.8 mi | 41.9 | 19% | 33% |
| Ystrad Mynach | 11,856 | 1.8 mi | 39.5 | 16% | 32% |
| Tir-y-berth and Glan-y-nant | 1,411 | 1.9 mi | 39.9 | 17% | 32% |
| Newbridge | 7,582 | 2.3 mi | 43.7 | 21% | 27% |
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 Pontllanfraith’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Pontllanfraith’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 10,168 people in 2021, against 9,363 in the built-up area.
- 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 Pontllanfraith’s residents
What is the population of Pontllanfraith?
The 2021 Census counted 9,363 people in Pontllanfraith’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 10,100 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Pontllanfraith?
The median age was 43.5 at the 2021 Census, younger than 58% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 22% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Pontllanfraith?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 91% across Gwent’s towns. 2.3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pontllanfraith?
58% said they had no religion and 36% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.4% didn’t answer.
Is Pontllanfraith good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Pontllanfraith’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Pontllanfraith?
784 residents aged 3 and over, 8.6%, 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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024. 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.