Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
In Gwynedd, Wales, this town has 3,134 residents.
Low prices, and some weak spots to weigh against them. Walkability is its strong suit: 28% of commuters get to work on foot, by bike or by public transport. It takes 4.4 years of household income in the Gwynedd council area to buy the median home, at £198,500. Jobs & income is its weak spot — mean household income £39,968; 3.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Put together, the subjects come to a B− overall, ranking #4 of 13 in Gwynedd. Nationally, it does better than 52% of UK towns.
Figures: commuting, Census 2021 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
This town's Health Grade uses 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' grades also use OHID's small-area early deaths, hospital admissions and child obesity, which OHID publishes for England only.
The 3 things Tywyn does most differently from other towns.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Tywyn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 24 buildings inside Tywyn’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I.
25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 1 old photo or postcard going back to 1840.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Tywyn.
25% of adults hold a degree, lower than both Gwynedd’s towns (32%) and Wales’s towns (31%). Over-65s are 36% of the population. Typical age in Tywyn: 55.9, the median. One measure of family life: 13% of residents are under 15.
53% women, 47% men
About 89 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.
| Tywyn | Gwynedd | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 13% | 16% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 7.2% | 13% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 18% | 22% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 26% | 26% |
| 65+ | 36% | 23% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 21% | 18% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 7% | 6.1% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 16% | 19% | 17% |
| Degree level | 25% | 32% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Gwynedd and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Tywyn’s one primary and one secondary have 616 pupils between them. All of them are below.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol Gynradd PenybrynLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 240 | – |
| Ysgol Uwchradd TywynLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 376 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 17% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
71% of commuters drove, below Gwynedd’s towns (79%) and Wales’s towns (81%) alike. Of the commuters living in Tywyn, 47% work in the town itself. Jobs per working resident: 0.7.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Tywyn’s listed buildings include the Church of St Cadfan, Grade I. The pre-1919 share of homes is 25%. It has 77 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, near Gwynedd’s towns (78) and higher than Wales’s towns (18).
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
15% of households live in social housing. 168 standard sales inside Tywyn’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026 put the median at £198,500. Private rents average £724 a month across the Gwynedd council area.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £285,000 | 68 |
| Semi-detached | £181,000 | 34 |
| Terraced | £175,000 | 55 |
| Flat or maisonette | £83,000 | 11 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
At the census, 7.7% of residents said their health was bad or very bad, above both Gwynedd’s towns (5.5%) and Wales’s towns (7.1%); what’s more, a disability affects 24% of people in Tywyn. The nearest A&E to Tywyn is Bronglais General Hospital, 11.6 miles away. One GP practice serves the town.
| Census 2021 | Tywyn | Gwynedd | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 72% | 80% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.7% | 5.5% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 24% | 20% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Because the census answers ignore age, a younger population lifts them; that is why the Health Grade is built on age-adjusted measures like life expectancy.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 142 crimes and 32 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Tywyn’s built-up area. Each year, 26 violent crimes are recorded per 1,000 residents. 58% of the crimes fell under violence and sexual offences.
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.
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.
24 listed buildings in Tywyn, 1 of them Grade I.
Church of St Cadfan: Photo: RwthTomos1948 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Corbett Arms Hotel: Photo: Peter Glyn · CC0 · Brynhyfryd, including Brynhyfryd Cottage and attached stable and coach house: Photo: Probinaries · CC BY-SA 3.0 · The Vicarage: Photo: Peter Glyn · CC BY-SA 3.0
8 notable people were born in Tywyn.
David Lloyd: National Assembly for Wales from Wales, CC BY 2.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tywyn | 3,134 | — | B− | B+ | B− | C+ |
| Borth | 1,115 | 7 | — | C+ | C | C+ |
| Barmouth | 1,986 | 9.8 | — | B+ | D | B− |
| Bow Street | 1,101 | 9.9 | — | B− | B− | C+ |
| Machynlleth | 2,161 | 10 | — | A− | C | C |
| Penrhyn-coch | 1,378 | 11 | — | B− | A | B |
| Aberystwyth | 14,646 | 12 | C | B | D | C− |
Borth, Barmouth, Bow Street, Machynlleth and Penrhyn-coch have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
An older town. At the 2021 Census, 36% of residents were 65 or over and 27% were 45 to 64, against 21% and 26% across Wales’s towns; 13% were under 15.
24 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I. That is 3.1 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I building is Church of St Cadfan.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £198,500, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £83,000, terraced houses £175,000, semi-detached houses £181,000 and detached houses £285,000.
Town in Gwynedd, Wales
Tywyn is a built-up area of 3,134 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
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.