Photo: Stuart Wilding · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Aberdovey is over 60.7, older than 99% of UK towns
Across Wales’s towns, the share of one-person households is 32%; Aberdovey has 48%. In Aberdovey, nearly a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership. 97% of residents describe themselves as White British, more than in 94% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census Aberdovey was home to 538 people in 317 households.
40% of Aberdovey is 65 or over, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
70–74 is the most common age band: 12% of residents, 2.2 times the share across Wales’s towns. Typically, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. In Aberdovey, 5.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
52% women, 48% men
About 91 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.
Only 3.6% of adults are full-time students in Aberdovey
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%.
Residents who moved in within the year: 13%, above 95% of UK towns. Typically, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns.
Fewer family households than 99% of UK towns: 9.8% in Aberdovey
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Gwynedd’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
In Aberdovey the average household is 1.7 people, beside 2.3 across Wales’s towns. Few places have so few shared households of unrelated adults: 1% here, fewer than in 99% of UK towns. For households with dependent children, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 27%.
Above 89% of UK towns: 34% of households live in a terraced house
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
Households without a car or van: 17% here and 21% across Wales’s towns. 14% of households live in a flat or apartment, a higher share than in 67% of UK towns. On average, 29% of households live in a terraced house across Wales’s towns.
Aberdovey sits above 98% of UK towns for residents whose main language is English (99%)
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
By birthplace, the largest groups from abroad were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.9%). Residents whose main language is English make up 96% across Wales’s towns. 3.5% of residents were born outside the UK, a lower share than in 84% of UK towns.
In Aberdovey, 30% of residents can speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
The 2021 Census found 162 Welsh speakers aged 3 and over, 30% of that age group, against 16% across Welsh towns: more than in 82% of them. Caernarfon leads Gwynedd with 82%.
A larger share of residents who describe themselves as Christian than 77% of UK towns: 54%
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 Aberdovey · Gwynedd’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Compared with 47% across Wales’s towns, 38% of residents said they have no religion here. The comparison figure for residents who describe themselves as Christian is 43% across Wales’s towns.
A lower share of unpaid carers than 88% of UK towns, at 7.8%
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
50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, against 43% across Wales’s towns. The benchmark for unpaid carers across Wales’s towns: 10%.
A degree-level qualification for 40% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
40% of Aberdovey’s adults have a degree-level qualification, against 31% across Wales’s towns; 15% have none (20%).
Aberdovey is older than every town around it
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aberdovey | 538 | — | 60.7 | 40% | 9.8% |
| Tywyn | 3,134 | 3.3 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 17% |
| Borth | 1,115 | 4 mi | 52.2 | 29% | 18% |
| Bow Street | 1,101 | 6.9 mi | 45.3 | 23% | 26% |
| Penrhyn-coch | 1,378 | 7.6 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 29% |
| Machynlleth | 2,161 | 9 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Aberystwyth | 14,646 | 9.1 mi | 25 | 14% | 19% |
| Llanbadarn Fawr | 1,766 | 9.4 mi | 40.3 | 20% | 22% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- “Gwynedd’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Gwynedd (or Wales), summed the same way as Aberdovey’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 Aberdovey’s residents
What is the population of Aberdovey?
The 2021 Census counted 538 people in Aberdovey’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Aberdovey?
The median age was 60.7 at the 2021 Census. 5.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 40% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Aberdovey?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Gwynedd’s towns. 3.5% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Aberdovey?
38% said they had no religion and 54% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 5.2% didn’t answer.
Is Aberdovey good for families?
9.8% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Aberdovey’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Aberdovey?
162 residents aged 3 and over, 30%, 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.