Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0Criccieth is older than 98% of UK towns: a median age of 56.6
By its share of one-person households (38%), Criccieth is above 95% of UK towns. On households with dependent children, Criccieth sits lower than 97% of UK towns: 18%. The village’s 769 households held 1,737 residents at the 2021 Census. In Criccieth, just over a quarter of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership.
What the Census says about Criccieth’s people
A Welsh-speaking village
1,025 residents, 60% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 95% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Older than most towns
Half of Criccieth’s residents are under 56.6 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 37% are 65 or over, against 21% across Wales’s towns. Ages ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
A larger share of residents aged 65 and over than 98% of UK towns: 37%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The biggest five-year age group is 70–74, with 9.1% of residents, 1.6 times the share across Wales’s towns. Set beside that, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. 7.7% of residents are aged 15 to 24.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
54% women, 46% men
About 86 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.
Criccieth ranks below 79% of UK towns on residents who moved in within the year: 7.4%
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%.
Against a figure of 8% across Wales’s towns, the share of full-time students in Criccieth comes in at 4.7%. On average, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
Households here average 2.1 people, below 89% 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults account for 2.5%.
In Criccieth, 31% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 84% 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
Where 14% of households live in a flat or apartment across Wales’s towns, Criccieth has 13%. At 38%, the share of households in detached houses is higher than in 71% of UK towns. The wider picture: 29% of households live in a terraced house across Wales’s towns. The census found that 15% of households have no car or van in the village.
Fewer residents born outside the UK than 56% of UK towns: 5.8%
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
Residents born abroad were most often born in EU countries (3.6%), then in the Americas, Oceania and elsewhere (0.8%). Measured more widely, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Fewer residents whose main language is English than in 55% of UK towns: 97%. Nearly a fifth of the town’s residents born abroad came in 2017 or later, set against 23% across Wales’s towns.
Criccieth’s residents: 60% speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
At the 2021 Census, 1,025 residents aged 3 and over, 60%, said they can speak Welsh, against 16% across Welsh towns: more than in 95% of Welsh towns. The highest share in Gwynedd belongs to Caernarfon (82%).
94% of residents describe themselves as White British, a share 68% of UK towns don’t reach
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: 94% of Criccieth · Gwynedd’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
51% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across Wales’s towns the figure is 43%. The census found that 39% of residents said they have no religion in Criccieth. For residents who describe themselves as White British, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 90%.
50% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a share 62% 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
66 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. The share of married adults and civil partners across Wales’s towns is 43%. Higher than in nearly three quarters of UK towns: 10% of residents give unpaid care.
37% of adults hold a degree-level qualification
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 Criccieth, 17%, while 37% hold one at degree level (31%).
Every neighbour of Criccieth has a younger population
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Criccieth | 1,737 | — | 56.6 | 37% | 18% |
| Porthmadog | 2,579 | 4.2 mi | 48.3 | 28% | 22% |
| Harlech | 1,261 | 6.5 mi | 56 | 34% | 15% |
| Penrhyndeudraeth | 1,463 | 7 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 25% |
| Pwllheli | 3,622 | 7.9 mi | 45.4 | 23% | 23% |
| Penygroes | 1,793 | 9.5 mi | 45.2 | 24% | 24% |
| Nefyn | 1,291 | 11.9 mi | 48.5 | 27% | 24% |
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 Criccieth’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 Criccieth’s residents
What is the population of Criccieth?
The 2021 Census counted 1,737 people in Criccieth’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Criccieth?
The median age was 56.6 at the 2021 Census. 7.7% of residents were 15 to 24 and 37% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Criccieth?
94% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Gwynedd’s towns. 5.8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Criccieth?
39% said they had no religion and 51% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 8.5% didn’t answer.
Is Criccieth good for families?
18% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Criccieth’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Criccieth?
1,025 residents aged 3 and over, 60%, 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.