At a median £230,000, a home costs 5.1 times the yearly income of households in the Bridgend council area. Health lags (C−): 6.4% in bad or very bad health, 20.9% disabled. All told, that adds up to a C− overall, better than just over a fifth of UK towns. Its place in the ranking is #9 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. Its remaining grades are unremarkable: B− for walkability and B− for hazard risk.
Figures: health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · incomes, ONS · commuting, Census 2021 · flood risk, Natural Resources Wales.
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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Bridgend is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Bridgend.
Health
80% of people in Bridgend say their health is good or very good, more than in both Mid Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
3 GP practices serve the town. Just over a fifth of residents have a disability, below both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (23%) and Wales’s towns (22%). Men in Bridgend can expect to live to 78.2, women to 83.1 (2019–23).
80%good or very good healthC−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 80%Fair 13%Bad or very bad 6%
Census 2021
Bridgend
Mid Glamorgan
Wales
Good or very good health
80%
77%
78%
Bad or very bad health
6.4%
8.2%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
21%
23%
22%
78.2
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
83.1
life expectancy at birth, women
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 · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · A young population flatters these answers, which are not age-adjusted; the Health Grade instead uses measures that allow for age, such as life expectancy.
Schools
18 state schools in Bridgend
Three of them are shown below, each with the reason. Some 8,350 pupils attend Bridgend’s 14 primaries and three secondaries.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 18 schools →
Safety
Bridgend has more crime per resident than 77% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Among the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, Bridgend has less crime per resident than 80% of them. A year of reports to August 2026 adds up to 4,245 offences in Bridgend and 740 cases of nuisance behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up nearly half of the total.
38.1violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 80% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual2,062
Public order629
Shoplifting405
Damage & arson305
Other theft211
Drugs193
Other crime140
Vehicle crime107
Anti-social740
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.
38.1
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
10.4
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
13.5
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
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.
History
Bridgend’s heritage list runs to 91 buildings, 2 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Homes from before 1919 make up 8% of the total, lower than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (47%) and Wales’s towns (27%). Bridgend’s listed buildings include the Church of St Crallo, Grade I. At the top of the list, 2 are Grade I and 7 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade C+
Household income in Bridgend, £51K a year, runs above Mid Glamorgan’s towns and 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.
Unemployment benefit claims came to 2.7% of 16 to 64s in 2026, lower than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (3.2%) and Wales’s towns (3%). For 53% of commuters, work was under 5 km away. 46% of commuters who live in Bridgend also work there. Jobs per working resident: 1.3.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
HousingCost of living grade B−
Bridgend earns a B− for cost of living grade
71% of households own their home, above both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (68%) and Wales’s towns (65%). Renting privately is how 15% of households live. Behind the median of £230,000: 2,118 standard sales inside Bridgend’s built-up area, September 2023 to August 2026.
£230Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Bridgend£230K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£315,000
684
Semi-detached
£220,000
894
Terraced
£177,500
473
Flat or maisonette
£125,000
67
71%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
15%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£765
average private rent a month, Bridgend council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Who lives here
More people in Bridgend hold a degree than in Mid Glamorgan’s towns or Wales’s towns: 34%
17% of residents are 65 or over, below both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (20%) and Wales’s towns (21%). People aged 15 to 24 make up a tenth of the town. Line up the people of Bridgend by age and the one in the middle is 40.2.
40.2median age
BridgendMid GlamorganWales
Ages · share of residents
17%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications17%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar17%
Degree level34%
Women and men · all residents
49% women, 51% men
WomenWalesMen
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Matthew Tuck: Andreas Lawen, Fotandi, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Aneurin Barnard: GabboT, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Huw Edwards: The National Churches Trust, CC BY 2.0 · Amanda Levete: Seriousarchfan at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Laura McAllister: National Assembly for Wales from Wales, CC BY 2.0 · Mika Chunuonsee: El_Loko für www.thai-fussball.com, CC BY 4.0
Pen-y-fai, Cefn Cribwr, Ogmore-by-Sea, Bettws and Llangeinor have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Bridgend
Is Bridgend safe?
Against all UK towns, most of them far smaller, it grades C−.
Is Bridgend expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £230,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £125,000, terraced houses £177,500, semi-detached houses £220,000 and detached houses £315,000.
How much is council tax in Bridgend?
Band D council tax in Bridgend is £2,476 for 2026–27, more than in 58% of UK towns (the Bridgend council average, with police and community councils). Your own bill depends on your home’s band; check it on GOV.UK.
About Bridgend
Large town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Bridgend is a built-up area of 51,751 people, in the Bridgend 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
51,751 (Census 2021)
Council
Bridgend (mostly)
County
Mid Glamorgan
Region
Wales
Area
6.3 sq mi (16.3 km²)
ONS code
W45000592
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.
