Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A village of 1,986 in Gwynedd, Wales.
Where it does best is walkability — on the way to work, 35% walk, cycle or take a bus or train. Hazards are a real consideration (D−): a third of homes at high or medium risk of flooding from rivers or the sea. Jobs & income is weaker too — mean household income £40,952; 4.9% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. A median £189,950 buys a home here, 4.2 times what households in the Gwynedd council area earn in a year. Police record more crime here than in most towns (D): police record 58.5 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, and 14.8 home and vehicle crimes. Set beside UK towns of 1,000 to 2,500 people, its crime per resident is higher than in 97%.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Natural Resources Wales · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026. Barmouth is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall 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 Barmouth 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 Barmouth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Barmouth is graded on each subject, but towns under 2,500 get no overall grade.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists them inside Barmouth’s built-up area.
58% 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 Barmouth.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Barmouth’s listed buildings include the Parish Church of Saint Mary and Saint Bodfan, Grade I. Scaled to its population, Barmouth has 267 listed buildings per 10,000 people, higher than both Gwynedd’s towns (76) and Wales’s towns (18). It has 53 listed buildings on Cadw’s list: 1 Grade I, 6 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
It is listed below. Its one primary school teaches 185 pupils.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol y TraethLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 185 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 19% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
For every resident in work, Barmouth has 0.9 jobs. Of the commuters living in the town, 38% work in the town itself. Walking ranked second among ways to work, at 30%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Over the year to August 2026, 223 offences were reported in Barmouth, along with 51 incidents of anti-social behaviour. There were 25.5 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Gwynedd’s towns (15) and Wales’s towns (10.4). 55% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
Home ownership stands at 54% of households. The £189,950 median rests on 91 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026). Private rents average £724 a month across the Gwynedd council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £405,000 | 15 |
| Semi-detached | £191,250 | 16 |
| Terraced | £177,500 | 28 |
| Flat or maisonette | £135,000 | 32 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Nearly a fifth of residents have a disability, near Gwynedd’s towns (20%) and lower than Wales’s towns (22%). One GP practice serves the town. Asked at the census, 78% of residents of Barmouth said they were in good or very good health.
| Census 2021 | Barmouth | Gwynedd | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 80% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.5% | 5.5% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · The census answers take no account of age, so a young town looks healthier; the Health Grade relies on age-adjusted measures, life expectancy among them.
The 65-and-over age group makes up 25% of residents. Ages in Barmouth split evenly at 47: half are older, half younger. 17% are under 15, about level with Wales’s towns (17%) and above Gwynedd’s towns (16%).
52% women, 48% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Barmouth | Gwynedd | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 9.7% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 21% | 22% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 25% | 23% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 19% | 18% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.7% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 24% | 32% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwynedd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Barmouth. Best known first.
MuseumSailors' Institutein town
MuseumThe Round Housein town
MuseumTŷ Gwyn and the Maritime Museumin town
Heritage railwayFairbourne Railway2.6 km outside town, to the southPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
5 notable people were born in Barmouth.
Adrian Dingle: Toronto Star staff, Public domain
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
53 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 6 Grade II*. That is 11 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Parish Church of Saint Mary and Saint Bodfan.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £189,950, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £135,000, terraced houses £177,500, semi-detached houses £191,250 and detached houses £405,000.
Village in Gwynedd, Wales
Barmouth is a built-up area of 1,986 people, in the Gwynedd 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.