Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 15,194 in Gwent, Wales.
Risca grades C− overall against UK towns: better than 18% of UK towns, and #12 of 38 in Gwent. Its strongest subject is cost of living (A−): median sale £177,750, 4.2 years of area income; rent £747 a month. Its weakest is health (D): 8% in bad or very bad health, 24% 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 Risca 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 Risca is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 82 buildings inside Risca’s built-up area.
40% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 2 old photos and postcards going back to 1905.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Risca.
Women here live to 80.4 on average and men to 77.6 (2019–23). 75% of Risca’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below both Gwent’s towns (77%) and Wales’s towns (78%). The nearest A&E to Risca is The Grange University Hospital, 5.1 miles away.
| Census 2021 | Risca | Gwent | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 75% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 8% | 7.7% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 22% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL
Two of its 6 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ty Sign Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 425 | – |
| Risca Community Comprehensive SchoolLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 618 | – |
Homes saw 18.7 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above both Gwent’s towns (16.5) and Wales’s towns (10.7). Violent crime runs at 44.2 per 1,000 residents a year. Police recorded 1,254 crimes inside Risca’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 390 reports of anti-social behaviour.
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 heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
In the comparison, Risca comes above both Gwent’s towns (26%) and Wales’s towns (27%). Risca has 82 listed buildings on Cadw’s list: 0 Grade I, 0 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £293,500 | 40 |
| Semi-detached | £200,000 | 191 |
| Terraced | £165,000 | 272 |
| Flat or maisonette | £117,500 | 7 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 22% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For Risca, that is below both Gwent’s towns (39%) and Wales’s towns (41%). 13% of commuters went to work on foot, by bike or by public transport at the census.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Risca sits below both Gwent’s towns (28%) and Wales’s towns (31%) on this measure. Those aged 15 to 24 account for 10% of residents.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Risca | Gwent | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 18% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 26% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 21% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 22% | 23% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.9% | 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 Risca. Best known first.
CastleRuperra Castle3.9 km outside town, to the south
CastleCraig Ruperra Motte3.4 km outside town, to the south
MuseumFourteen Locks Canal Centre2 km outside town, to the southeastCastleCastleCastell Meredydd1.8 km outside town, to the southwestPark or estatePark or estate · National TrustTredegar House Park4.9 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionCwmcarn Forest Drive Visitor Centre800 m outside town, to the northPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
82 listed buildings in Risca.
Canal Bridge over Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal W of Penrhiw: Photo: Gareth James · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Bethany English Baptist Church and attached Sunday School: Photo: Victuallers · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Former Risca Palace Cinema: Photo: John Lamper · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Mary Risca: Photo: John Grayson · CC BY-SA 2.0
16 notable people were born in Risca.
Sam Harrison: Laurent Brun, CC BY-SA 2.0 · William Brace: AnonymousUnknown author, Public domain · Jehoida Hodges: Taddy's Cigarettes, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Risca | 15,194 | — | C− | A− | D | D |
| Machen | 1,985 | 1.8 | — | B− | B | C |
| Rogerstone | 7,546 | 2 | B | C− | B | B |
| Abercarn | 5,123 | 2.8 | C | A− | C− | D |
| Trethomas | 1,713 | 3 | — | B− | D− | D |
| Cwmfelinfach | 1,353 | 3.3 | — | A | C | D |
| Cwmbrân | 47,075 | 4.1 | D− | C+ | D | D |
| Bedwas | 6,463 | 4.2 | D | B− | C− | D |
Machen, Trethomas and Cwmfelinfach have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
82 on Cadw’s list. That is 2.2 times the typical UK town for its size.
It has more crime per resident than most places its size: 82% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less. Police recorded 1,254 crimes inside Risca’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, 50% of them violence and sexual offences, a police category that includes harassment and stalking.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £177,750, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £117,500, terraced houses £165,000, semi-detached houses £200,000 and detached houses £293,500.
Town in Gwent, Wales
Risca is a built-up area of 15,194 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.