Photo: Monsyn · CC BY-SA 4.0A Welsh-speaking village: 78% of Gaerwen’s residents speak Welsh
The median age in Gaerwen is 39.8, lower than in 81% of UK towns. The 2021 Census counted 1,277 residents in 550 households. On the census count, 7.6% of households have no car or van. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 97%, against 90% across Wales’s towns.
What the Census says about Gaerwen’s people
A Welsh-speaking village
953 residents, 78% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh in 2021, more than in 99% of Welsh towns. Welsh language ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area).
Fewer residents aged 65 and over than 71% of UK towns: 19%
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Set against 12% across Wales’s towns, nearly one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24 in Gaerwen. Elsewhere, 21% of residents are 65 or over across Wales’s towns. 55–59 is the most common age band: 8% of residents.
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.
In Gaerwen, 4.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
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%.
Across Wales’s towns, 29% of adults are in managerial and professional jobs and 27% in routine work; in Gaerwen, 25% and 32%. Higher than in 62% of UK towns: 5.1% of adults are full-time students. Typically, nearly one in ten residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Households with dependent children: 30%, a higher share than 74% 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.
Households average 2.3 people, against 2.3 across Wales’s towns. Set beside that, 27% of households have dependent children across Wales’s towns. Shared households of unrelated adults: 1.6% of the total. At 29%, the share of one-person households is lower than in 60% of UK towns.
Fewer flats than 99% of UK towns: 0.7% of households
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
Terraced houses are home to 19% of households, against 29% across Wales’s towns. On average, 14% of households live in a flat or apartment across Wales’s towns. Just over a third of households live in a detached house.
Below 97% of UK towns: 2.4% of residents were born outside the UK
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 its share of residents whose main language is English (99%), Gaerwen is above three quarters of UK towns. The share of residents born outside the UK across Wales’s towns is 7.4%. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (1.7%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.4%).
Welsh speakers: 78% of Gaerwen’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Asked in 2021, 953 residents aged 3 and over, 78%, said they can speak Welsh; across Welsh towns, 16%: more than in 99% of Welsh towns. In Gwynedd, Caernarfon has the highest share (82%).
Above 64% of UK towns: 52% of residents describe themselves as Christian
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 Gaerwen · Gwynedd’s towns 93% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Against a figure of 47% across Wales’s towns, the share of residents with no religion in Gaerwen comes in at 41%. Across Wales’s towns, 43% of residents describe themselves as Christian.
Fewer married adults and civil partners than 88% of UK towns: 41%
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
27 people give 50 hours or more of unpaid care a week. Across Wales’s towns, the share of married adults and civil partners is 43%. Unpaid carers are rarer here than in 79% of UK towns. With adults who have never married at 39%, Gaerwen is ahead of 86% of UK towns on that count.
A degree-level qualification for 30% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 30% of its adults qualified to degree level, Gaerwen compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 18% hold no qualification (20%).
Gaerwen and its 7 nearest towns: 4 of them are older
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaerwen | 1,277 | — | 39.8 | 19% | 30% |
| Llangefni | 5,264 | 2.9 mi | 39.5 | 20% | 31% |
| Llanfair Pwllgwyngyll | 2,905 | 3 mi | 52 | 33% | 22% |
| Y Felinheli | 2,333 | 3.8 mi | 42.9 | 21% | 25% |
| Menai Bridge | 3,045 | 4.4 mi | 47.3 | 24% | 20% |
| Bethel | 1,091 | 4.8 mi | 44.7 | 24% | 32% |
| Bangor | 16,994 | 5.7 mi | 26.4 | 12% | 26% |
| Caernarfon | 9,831 | 5.7 mi | 39.6 | 19% | 28% |
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 Gaerwen’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 Gaerwen’s residents
What is the population of Gaerwen?
The 2021 Census counted 1,277 people in Gaerwen’s built-up area.
What is the average age in Gaerwen?
The median age was 39.8 at the 2021 Census. 9.5% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Gaerwen?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 93% across Gwynedd’s towns. 2.4% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Gaerwen?
41% said they had no religion and 52% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0% were Muslim and 7.2% didn’t answer.
Is Gaerwen good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Gaerwen’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Gaerwen?
953 residents aged 3 and over, 78%, 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.