Morfa Bychan’s story
Old homes in Morfa Bychan: 36% built before 1919
36% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →
Morfa BychanGwynedd
72% of households own their home with no mortgage. A village of 476 in Gwynedd, Wales.
7 places within 12 milesMap →
Photo: Bill Harrison · CC BY-SA 2.0
Population
476
Census 2021 · Gwynedd council
Median home
£265K
31 sales in 3 years
Median age
63.6
48% are 65+ · Gwynedd 23%
Degree level
35%
of residents 16+ · Wales 31%
Walk, cycle, bus
12%
of commuters · Wales 16%
Is Morfa Bychan a good place to live?
There are no grades for Morfa Bychan: with fewer than 1,000 residents, they wouldn’t be fair. The figures on this page are still real. 48% of residents are 65 or over. 36% of its homes date from before 1919.
What makes Morfa Bychan stand out
The 3 things Morfa Bychan does most differently from other towns.
The data
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Morfa Bychan.
Who lives here
Morfa Bychan has fewer young adults than Gwynedd’s towns or Wales’s towns: 3.8% are 15 to 24
Degrees are held by 35% of adults. People 65 and over make up 48% of the town, above both Gwynedd’s towns (23%) and Wales’s towns (21%). The under-15s are 7.9% of the population here. Line up the people of Morfa Bychan by age and the one in the middle is 63.6.
63.6median age
Morfa BychanGwyneddWales
Ages · share of residents
48%
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship8%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level35%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Morfa Bychan | Gwynedd | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 7.9% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 3.8% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 11% | 22% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 29% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 48% | 23% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 17% | 18% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 7.8% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 35% | 32% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwynedd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Work & commute
Only 12% of commuters in Morfa Bychan go to work without a car, fewer than in Gwynedd’s towns and across Wales’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 27% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 1.4 jobs in Morfa Bychan for each resident in work. The car took 86% of commuters, above both Gwynedd’s towns (79%) and Wales’s towns (81%). Also worth knowing: 3.5% of people aged 16 to 64 were on unemployment benefits in 2026. About 8% of its commuters stay in Morfa Bychan for work.
12%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving86%
On foot9%
Bicycle2%
27%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£43K
mean household income, before tax
3.5%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Housing
Morfa Bychan is a town of owners: 85% of households own their home, above Gwynedd’s towns and Wales’s towns
Social housing holds 2% of households, below Gwynedd’s towns (19%) and Wales’s towns (18%) alike. 13% of households rent privately. The £265,000 median rests on 31 standard sales inside the built-up area (September 2023 to August 2026).
£265Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Morfa Bychan£265K
Typical UK town£277K
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £270,000 | 28 |
85%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
13%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£724
average private rent a month, Gwynedd council area
£2,469
council tax, Band D, 2026–27
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Safety
Morfa Bychan records more violent crime per resident than Gwynedd’s towns or Wales’s towns, at 56.7 per 1,000 a year
A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 56 offences in Morfa Bychan and 30 cases of nuisance behaviour. Burglary and damage came to 14.7 per 1,000 residents a year, above both Gwynedd’s towns (8.7) and Wales’s towns (10.7). Violence and sexual offences were nearly two thirds of the crimes.
56.7violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a year
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual37
Damage & arson6
Public order4
Other theft4
Other crime2
Burglary1
Drugs1
Vehicle crime1
Anti-social30
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.
56.7
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
14.7
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
42.7
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
56
crimes recorded in the 12 months to August 2026
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.
Health
Morfa Bychan is 20.4 miles from the nearest A&E
A disability affects nearly a fifth of people in Morfa Bychan. There is no GP practice in the town: the nearest is 1.6 miles off. At the census, 6.3% of people here described their health as bad or very bad.
79%good or very good health
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 79%Fair 15%Bad or very bad 6%
| Census 2021 | Morfa Bychan | Gwynedd | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 79% | 80% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 6.3% | 5.5% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 19% | 20% | 22% |
Welsh towns’ Health Grades use 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’ also use OHID’s small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · 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.
History
No listed buildings in Morfa Bychan
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Cadw’s list has no building inside Morfa Bychan’s built-up area.
0listed buildings
Listed buildings by grade · Cadw
Grade I0
Grade II*0
Grade II0
0
scheduled monuments
0
registered parks and gardens
36%
of homes built before 1919 · typical UK town 15%
0
listed buildings per 10,000 residents · typical UK town 24
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Nearby attractions
All attractions →Castell Cricieth and 3 more in and around Morfa Bychan
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Morfa Bychan. Best known first.
Castle · CadwCastell Cricieth3.6 km outside town, to the west
Heritage railwayWelsh Highland Heritage Railway2.8 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumPorthmadog Maritime Museum2.1 km outside town, to the northeastMuseumMuseumHeritage Centre2.6 km outside town, to the northeastPlaces: © OpenStreetMap contributors · Wikidata
Photos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Photo credits (2)
- Castell Cricieth: Barry Skeates from newbury, UK, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
- Welsh Highland Heritage Railway: Nigel Cliff, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons
Keep exploring
Everything we know about Morfa Bychan
13pages on Morfa Bychan
The big questions
Safety56.7 violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026Cost of livingMedian home £265K · rent £724 a monthHousing11 sold in 12 months · busiest street Cefn Y GaderSchoolsHealthWork & commute51% of working residents work in the townFlood & hazards0.3% of homes at high or medium flood risk
Morfa Bychan’s neighbours
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
PorthmadogCricciethHarlechPenrhyndeudraethPwllheliPenygroesBlaenau FfestiniogMorfa Bychan
How the neighbours grade
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morfa Bychan | 476 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Porthmadog | 2,579 | 1.6 | C+ | A− | C− | C+ |
| Criccieth | 1,737 | 3 | — | C | B | C+ |
| Harlech | 1,261 | 4.1 | — | B+ | C+ | B− |
| Penrhyndeudraeth | 1,463 | 4.2 | — | A− | C | C+ |
| Pwllheli | 3,622 | 11 | C | B+ | D | C |
| Penygroes | 1,793 | 11 | — | A− | D | C |
| Blaenau Ffestiniog | 3,449 | 11 | C | A | D | C− |
Criccieth, Harlech, Penrhyndeudraeth and Penygroes have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Morfa Bychan
How much is council tax in Morfa Bychan?
Band D council tax in Morfa Bychan is £2,469 for 2026–27, more than in 56% of UK towns (the Gwynedd council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
Is Morfa Bychan expensive to live in?
Close to the typical UK town: the median sale over three years was £265,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. Private rents in the Gwynedd council area averaged £724 a month in August 2026.
About Morfa Bychan
Village in Gwynedd, Wales
Morfa Bychan is a built-up area of 476 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
- Population
- 476 (Census 2021)
- Council
- Gwynedd
- County
- Gwynedd
- Region
- Wales
- Area
- 0.3 sq mi (0.8 km²)
- ONS code
- W45000180
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.