Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
With 31,895 residents, it is a large town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales. Roughly one resident in 6 is aged 15 to 24.
More weak spots than strong ones. Where it falls short is health — 7.8% in bad or very bad health, 23.2% disabled. Crime runs high: 46.7 violent or sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, plus 14.4 home and vehicle crimes. Against UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people, it has more crime per resident than 79%. Housing is within reach (B+): homes sell for a median £156,000, about 3.7 times local household income. The overall grade lands at C−, #13 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. It comes out better than a fifth of UK towns.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026.
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 Pontypridd 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 Pontypridd is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 85 buildings inside Pontypridd’s built-up area, 1 of them Grade I, and 4 scheduled monuments.
48% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
The archive holds 5 old photos and postcards going back to 1800.
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Pontypridd. Best known first.
MuseumPontypridd Museumin town
Castle · CadwCastell Coch4.3 km outside town, to the southeast
MuseumRhondda Heritage Park1.7 km outside town, to the west
CastleLlancaiach-fawr4.3 km outside town, to the northeast
Museumnantgarw China Works Museum1.5 km outside town, to the southeastMuseumMuseumUniversity of South Wales Art Collection Museumin townPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Pontypridd.
3 GP practices serve the town. The nearest A&E to Pontypridd is The Royal Glamorgan Hospital, 4.3 miles away. At the census, 77% of people in Pontypridd called their health good or very good, near Mid Glamorgan’s towns (77%) and lower than Wales’s towns (78%).
| Census 2021 | Pontypridd | Mid Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 77% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.8% | 8.2% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 23% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Self-reported health favours young towns, since these answers ignore age; the Health Grade leans on age-adjusted measures such as life expectancy.
Between them, ten primaries and three secondaries teach 5,011 pupils in Pontypridd. Two of them are shown below, each with the reason.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol Gynradd Gymraeg Awel TafLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 346 | – |
| Ysgol Afon WenLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 1,165 | – |
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 3,171 crimes and 356 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Pontypridd’s built-up area. Violence and sexual offences accounted for 46% of recorded crime. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 14.1 reports per 1,000, higher than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (9.3) and Wales’s towns (10.4).
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.
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Pontypridd’s listed buildings include Pontypridd Bridge, Grade I. Before 1919: that is when 48% of homes were built. It counts 85 listed buildings on the national list (Cadw): 1 Grade I, 11 Grade II*.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
17% of residents are 65 or over, below both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (20%) and Wales’s towns (21%). At 37.3, the median resident of Pontypridd sits in the middle of the age range. Degrees are held by 27% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Pontypridd | Mid Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 16% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 24% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 17% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 23% | 24% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 4.6% | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 19% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 27% | 28% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Mid Glamorgan and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 24% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Walking, cycling and public transport carried 18% of commuters at the census. Household income came to £43K a year before tax, higher than Mid Glamorgan’s towns (£40K) and near Wales’s towns (£44K). Also worth knowing: about just over a fifth of its commuters stay in Pontypridd for work. Jobs per working resident: 1.3.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
61% of households are owner-occupiers. Private rents average £754 a month across the Rhondda Cynon Taf council area. The median sale, £156,000, comes from 1,118 standard sales inside Pontypridd’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 79 |
| Semi-detached | £190,000 | 281 |
| Terraced | £145,000 | 712 |
| Flat or maisonette | £102,000 | 46 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
85 listed buildings in Pontypridd, 1 of them Grade I.
Pontypridd Bridge: Photo: Varitek · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Municipal Buildings: Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Church of St Catherine: Photo: Andriusphoto · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Market Tavern Hotel: Photo: Theneurowarrior · CC BY-SA 4.0
16 notable people were born in Pontypridd.
Stuart Burrows: Sain (Records) Ltd, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Geraint Evans: London School of Economics, Public domain · Cory Hill: Stefano Delfrate, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Iris Williams: Geoff Charles, CC BY-SA 4.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontypridd | 31,895 | — | C− | B+ | D | D |
| Church Village | 14,162 | 2.4 | B | C | A− | C+ |
| Abertridwr and Senghenydd | 5,639 | 2.6 | D | A | D | D− |
| Ynysybwl | 4,580 | 2.8 | C− | B+ | C+ | D |
| Beddau | 7,356 | 3.2 | C− | B | C+ | D |
| Porth | 13,352 | 3.5 | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Abercynon | 6,376 | 3.8 | D | B+ | C− | D− |
| Nelson | 4,235 | 4.1 | C | B+ | C | D |
People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
85 on Cadw’s list, 1 of them Grade I and 11 Grade II*. Its Grade I building is Pontypridd Bridge. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £156,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £102,000, terraced houses £145,000, semi-detached houses £190,000 and detached houses £310,000.
Large town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Pontypridd is a built-up area of 31,895 people, in the Rhondda Cynon Taf 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.