Photo: OLU · CC BY-SA 2.0Fairbourne is older than 99% of UK towns: a median age of 60.4
The typical household size is 1.8 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. On the census count, 55% of households live in a detached house. Fewer households in flats than in 85% of UK towns: 4.7%. At the 2021 Census, 681 people lived in Fairbourne, in 366 households.
42% of residents are 65 or over, more than in 99% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
No age band is larger than 70–74: 13% of residents, 2.3 times the share across Wales’s towns. In Fairbourne, 6.8% of residents are aged 15 to 24. Set beside that, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Only 3.3% of adults are full-time students in Fairbourne
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%.
Here 7.2% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, where the figure across Wales’s towns is 9.1%. Across the comparison, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns.
In Fairbourne, 11% of households have dependent children, fewer than in 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.
Shared households of unrelated adults make up 1.1%, against 3.1% across Wales’s towns. Across Wales’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 27%. The share of one-person households stands at 46%.
Households in terraced houses: 13%, a lower share than 81% 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
17% of households have no car or van; across Wales’s towns the figure is 21%. By way of comparison, 29% of households live in a terraced house across Wales’s towns.
Fewer residents born abroad than 99% of UK towns: 2.1%
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
Most residents from abroad were born in EU countries (1.2%) or in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%). Across Wales’s towns, residents born outside the UK come to 7.4%. In Fairbourne, 100% of residents have English as their main language, beside 96% across Wales’s towns.
Can speak Welsh: 26% of Fairbourne’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
173 residents, 26% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns: more than in 79% of Welsh towns. The highest share in Gwynedd belongs to Caernarfon (82%).
Residents who describe themselves as White British: 96%, a higher share than 93% 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: 96% of Fairbourne · Gwynedd’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Besides White British, the main groups are Mixed or multiple (1.9%), Other White (1%) and Indian (0.2%). 55% of residents describe themselves as Christian, a higher share than in 80% of UK towns. Elsewhere, 90% of residents describe themselves as White British across Wales’s towns. Set against 47% across Wales’s towns, 35% of residents said they have no religion in Fairbourne.
Adults who have never married: 27%, a lower share than 86% 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 11%, against 10% across Wales’s towns. 48% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, fewer than in 52% of UK towns. The benchmark for adults who have never married across Wales’s towns: 38%.
Adults with a degree-level qualification: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Across Wales’s towns, 31% of adults have a degree-level qualification; in Fairbourne, 27%, and 25% have none, against 20%.
Fairbourne 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fairbourne | 681 | — | 60.4 | 42% | 11% |
| Barmouth | 1,986 | 1.9 mi | 47 | 25% | 23% |
| Dolgellau | 2,599 | 7.6 mi | 50.3 | 26% | 21% |
| Tywyn | 3,134 | 8 mi | 55.9 | 36% | 17% |
| Machynlleth | 2,161 | 11.2 mi | 48.4 | 26% | 23% |
| Harlech | 1,261 | 11.8 mi | 56 | 34% | 15% |
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 Fairbourne’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 Fairbourne’s residents
What is the population of Fairbourne?
The 2021 Census counted 681 people in Fairbourne’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Fairbourne?
The median age was 60.4 at the 2021 Census. 6.8% of residents were 15 to 24 and 42% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Fairbourne?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Gwynedd’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Fairbourne?
35% said they had no religion and 55% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.6% didn’t answer.
Is Fairbourne good for families?
11% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Fairbourne’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Fairbourne?
173 residents aged 3 and over, 26%, 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.