Photo: Andrew Hill · CC BY-SA 2.0A Welsh-speaking town: 76% of Blaenau Ffestiniog’s residents speak Welsh
Here 63% of households live in a terraced house, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 29%. 3,449 residents in 1,622 households: that is Blaenau Ffestiniog at the 2021 Census. The share of households in detached houses stands at 11%. Compared with other places, married adults and civil partners are scarce here: 37%, fewer than in 96% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Blaenau Ffestiniog’s people
A Welsh-speaking town
2,520 residents, 76% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 98% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Half of Blaenau Ffestiniog is under 43.4, younger than 58% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across Wales’s towns, just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Blaenau Ffestiniog. The largest age band is 55–59: nearly one in ten residents. This Gwynedd town has fewer residents aged 65 and over than 63% of UK towns, at 20%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Blaenau Ffestiniog, 43.4. 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.
A lower share of residents who moved in within the year than 97% of UK towns, at 6%
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%.
By class, 23% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 33% in routine and semi-routine work (Wales’s towns: 29% and 27%). Across the comparison, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns. For Blaenau Ffestiniog, the census puts full-time students at 6.5%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
One-person households: 42%, a higher share than 99% of UK towns
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.
Just over a quarter of households have dependent children, against 27% across Wales’s towns. There are 2.1 people in the average household. At 1.3%, the share of shared households of unrelated adults is lower than in 97% of UK towns. One-person households: 32% across Wales’s towns, for comparison.
26% of households have no car or van, more than in 89% of UK towns
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
14% of households live in a flat or apartment across Wales’s towns, against 8.1% in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Every 4th household or so has no car or van.
Residents born outside the UK make up 3% in Blaenau Ffestiniog, less than in 91% of UK towns
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
99% of residents have English as their main language (Wales’s towns: 96%). As a reference point, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.8%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.6%).
Blaenau Ffestiniog’s Welsh speakers make up 76% of residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 76% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (2,520 people): more than in 98% of Welsh towns. Within Gwynedd, Caernarfon has the largest share, 82%.
Residents with no religion: 52%, a higher share than 96% 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: 95% of Blaenau Ffestiniog · Gwynedd’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 95% here and 90% across Wales’s towns. Compared with other places, residents who describe themselves as Christian are scarce here: 39%, fewer than in 94% of UK towns. Typically, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. Leading the other groups after White British: Other White (2.7%), Mixed or multiple (1.2%) and Chinese (0.3%).
Adults who have never married make up 44% in Blaenau Ffestiniog, more than in 95% of UK towns
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 make up 8.1%, against 10% across Wales’s towns. For adults who have never married, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 38%. 103 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week.
Degree level: the highest qualification of 27% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 27% of its adults qualified to degree level, Blaenau Ffestiniog compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (20%). The highest qualification of 18% is A levels, often students still at university.
195th youngest of 749 UK towns of 2,500 to 5,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Bailrigg (18.9) and the oldest Milford on Sea (64.6). Nearest to Blaenau Ffestiniog in age: Bugbrooke (43.4), Watton at Stone (43.4), Long Hanborough (43.5) and Lenham and Harrietsham (43.5).
No nearby town is as young as Blaenau Ffestiniog
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaenau Ffestiniog | 3,449 | — | 43.4 | 20% | 26% |
| Penrhyndeudraeth | 1,463 | 6.9 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Porthmadog | 2,579 | 9.4 mi | 48.3 | 28% | 22% |
| Harlech | 1,261 | 11.5 mi | 56 | 34% | 15% |
| Llanrwst | 2,463 | 11.6 mi | 46.3 | 25% | 25% |
| Llanberis | 1,838 | 11.8 mi | 44.5 | 20% | 25% |
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.
- “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 Blaenau Ffestiniog’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 Blaenau Ffestiniog’s residents
What is the population of Blaenau Ffestiniog?
The 2021 Census counted 3,449 people in Blaenau Ffestiniog’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Blaenau Ffestiniog?
The median age was 43.4 at the 2021 Census, younger than 58% of UK towns. 11% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Blaenau Ffestiniog?
95% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Gwynedd’s towns. 3% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Blaenau Ffestiniog?
52% said they had no religion and 39% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.3% were Muslim and 8.1% didn’t answer.
Is Blaenau Ffestiniog good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Blaenau Ffestiniog’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Blaenau Ffestiniog?
2,520 residents aged 3 and over, 76%, 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.