Photo: Terrence Morgan · CC BY-SA 2.0Households in terraced houses make up 46% in Maesteg, more than in 97% of UK towns
Set against 47% across Wales’s towns, 53% of residents said they have no religion in Maesteg. Here, a quarter of households have no car or van. Unpaid carers are more common here than in 96% of UK towns. There were 8,019 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 18,342 residents.
What the Census says about Maesteg’s people
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Maesteg at 19,200 in 2011 and 18,500 in 2024, down 3%, against 4% for Wales: slower growth than in 94% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
Since 2011, Maesteg has changed by −3%, slower than 94% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Maesteg’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 19,200 people in 2011; 18,500 in 2024.
Split by age, the 65 and over changed most (+21%) and the 30 to 44 least (−12%).
In Maesteg, 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24, more than in 91% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Half of Maesteg’s residents are under 43.8, younger than in 55% of UK towns. The census found that 21% of residents are 65 or over here. In Porthcawl, the oldest of Mid Glamorgan’s towns by this measure, it is 33%.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Maesteg, 43.8. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 96 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
In Maesteg, 6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 93% 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%.
Full-time students make up 5.9%, against 8% across Wales’s towns. The benchmark for residents who moved in within the year across Wales’s towns: 9.1%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Maesteg households average 2.3 people, smaller than in 55% of UK towns
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Mid Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
People per household
Wales’s towns.
One-person households are about as common here as across Wales’s towns: 32%. In Maesteg, 27% of households have dependent children.
In Maesteg, 14% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 87% 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
Flats are home to 6.8% of households, against 14% across Wales’s towns. Across Wales’s towns, the share of households in detached houses is 24%.
Only 2.1% of residents were born outside the UK in Maesteg
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%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
Recent arrivals (2017 or later) make up 10% of those born abroad (Wales’s towns: 23%). Locally, 99% of residents have English as their main language. For comparison, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns.
Welsh is spoken by 10% of Maesteg’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
The 2021 Census found 1,869 Welsh speakers aged 3 and over, 10% of that age group, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 66% of them. No town in Mid Glamorgan beats Pontyclun (20%).
Above 98% of UK towns: 97% of residents describe themselves as White British
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 Maesteg · Mid Glamorgan’s towns 95% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Set against 43% across Wales’s towns, 40% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Maesteg. Residents who describe themselves as White British make up 90% across Wales’s towns.
More adults who have never married than 79% of UK towns: 37%
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
For 882 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week. Few places have so few married adults and civil partners: 43% here, fewer than in 80% of UK towns. Across the comparison, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns.
Among adults, 23% hold a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Maesteg counts 23% of its adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; at the other end, 30% have no qualification (20%).
From a median age of 40 in Caerau to 46 in Maesteg West, Garth & Llangynwyd
The town’s 3 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Maesteg West, Garth & Llangynwyd is the oldest area, with 25% aged 65 or over; Caerau the youngest (median age 40). Families with children are most common in Caerau (29% of households).
Among 325 UK towns of 13,000 to 25,000 people, the 160th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Maesteg in age: Faversham (43.8), Midsomer Norton (43.8), Shiney Row and Penshaw (43.9) and Hale (43.9).
Older than Maesteg: 2 of the 7 towns nearby
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maesteg | 18,342 | — | 43.8 | 21% | 27% |
| Pont Rhyd-y-cyff | 1,481 | 1.9 mi | 47.7 | 26% | 24% |
| Croeserw | 1,294 | 2.5 mi | 38.3 | 19% | 32% |
| Blaengarw | 1,779 | 3.2 mi | 41.7 | 18% | 28% |
| Pontycymer | 2,421 | 3.2 mi | 41.7 | 17% | 27% |
| Bettws | 2,237 | 4 mi | 37.4 | 16% | 32% |
| Cwmavon | 4,524 | 4.4 mi | 44.9 | 21% | 25% |
| Llangeinor | 1,016 | 4.6 mi | 40.2 | 18% | 29% |
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.
- “Mid Glamorgan’s towns” and “Wales’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Mid Glamorgan (or Wales), summed the same way as Maesteg’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Maesteg’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 18,559 people in 2021, against 18,342 in the built-up area.
- 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 Maesteg’s residents
What is the population of Maesteg?
The 2021 Census counted 18,342 people in Maesteg’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 18,500 people in mid-2024, 3% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Maesteg?
The median age was 43.8 at the 2021 Census, younger than 55% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 21% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Maesteg?
97% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 95% across Mid Glamorgan’s towns. 2.1% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Maesteg?
53% said they had no religion and 40% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.2% were Muslim and 5.5% didn’t answer.
Is Maesteg good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Families are most common in Caerau (29% of households). Schools are on Maesteg’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Maesteg?
1,869 residents aged 3 and over, 10%, 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) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. 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.