Photo: Victor J Davies · CC BY-SA 1.0Younger than 91% of UK towns: half of Pontypridd is under 37.3
Households in terraced houses make up 46%, against 29% across Wales’s towns. There were 13,635 households in Pontypridd at the 2021 Census, home to 31,895 residents. Here, one in ten households live in a detached house. 37% of adults are married or in a civil partnership, a lower share than in 96% of UK towns.
What the Census says about Pontypridd’s people
A student town
The 2021 Census counted 3,654 full-time students aged 16 and over, 14% of adults, against 8% across Wales’s towns: more than in 98% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 16% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More with no religion than most
58% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 33% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Pontypridd’s residents are under 37.3 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 16% are 15 to 24 and 17% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
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.
Growth of +8% since 2011 puts Pontypridd ahead of 52% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Pontypridd’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 32,700 people in 2011; 35,300 in 2024.
The 30 to 44 age group changed most (+26%) and the 16 to 29 least (−6%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2021 to mid-2022, 1,110 people.
Residents aged 15 to 24: 16%, a higher share than 97% of UK towns
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Residents aged 65 and over: 17% here and 21% across Wales’s towns. The usual figure: 12% of residents are aged 15 to 24 across Wales’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Pontypridd, 37.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Full-time students make up 14% in Pontypridd, more than in 98% 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%.
With residents who moved in within the year at 11%, Pontypridd is ahead of 81% of UK towns on that count. For comparison, 8% of adults are full-time students across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
In Pontypridd, 5.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, more than in 96% 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.
Just over a quarter of households have dependent children; across Wales’s towns the figure is 27%. As a reference point, 3.1% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home across Wales’s towns. The census found that 32% of households are one person living alone in Pontypridd.
In Pontypridd, 26% of households have no car or van, more than in 88% 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
Across Wales’s towns, the share of households in flats is 14%; Pontypridd has 13%. On average, just over a fifth of households have no car or van across Wales’s towns.
8% born outside the UK, the most of any Mid Glamorgan town
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
More residents born outside the UK than in 64% of UK towns: 8%. 96% of residents have English or Welsh as their main language. Of residents born abroad, 45% arrived in 2017 or later, against 23% across Wales’s towns.
Welsh speakers: 12% of Pontypridd’s residents
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Against 16% across Welsh towns, 12% of residents aged 3 and over can speak Welsh here (3,797 people): more than in 54% of Welsh towns. In Mid Glamorgan, Pontyclun has the highest share (20%).
58% said they have no religion, more than in 99% of UK towns
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: 90% of Pontypridd · Mid Glamorgan’s towns 95% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
Residents who describe themselves as White British are about as common here as across Wales’s towns: 90%. Measured more widely, 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. For Pontypridd, the census puts residents who describe themselves as Christian at 33%.
Adults who have never married: 46%, a higher share than 96% of UK towns
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
Unpaid carers make up 10%, close to the figure across Wales’s towns. The wider picture: 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. For 1,114 residents, unpaid care runs to 50 hours or more a week.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 27%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
With 27% of its adults qualified to degree level, Pontypridd compares with 31% across Wales’s towns; another 23% hold no qualification (20%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 19%.
From a median age of 30 in Trefforest to 44 in Taff's Well & Nantgarw
The town’s 5 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Taff's Well & Nantgarw is the oldest area, with 22% aged 65 or over; Trefforest the youngest (median age 30). Students cluster in Trefforest, where 30% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Glyn-coch & Ynys-y-bwl (30% of households).
217 UK towns of 22,000 to 43,000 people: this is the 17th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 30.3 in Hatfield to 56.2 in Rustington. Nearest to Pontypridd in age: Prestwich (37.2), Bradley Stoke (37.3), Rowley Regis (37.6) and Borehamwood (37.6).
No nearby town is as young as Pontypridd
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontypridd | 31,895 | — | 37.3 | 17% | 26% |
| Church Village | 14,162 | 2.4 mi | 42.5 | 21% | 32% |
| Abertridwr and Senghenydd | 5,639 | 2.6 mi | 37.6 | 16% | 31% |
| Ynysybwl | 4,580 | 2.8 mi | 42 | 19% | 29% |
| Beddau | 7,356 | 3.2 mi | 40 | 18% | 30% |
| Porth | 13,352 | 3.5 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 25% |
| Abercynon | 6,376 | 3.8 mi | 39.2 | 17% | 30% |
| Nelson | 4,235 | 4.1 mi | 48.6 | 26% | 25% |
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 Pontypridd’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. Pontypridd’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 33,242 people in 2021, against 31,895 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 Pontypridd’s residents
What is the population of Pontypridd?
The 2021 Census counted 31,895 people in Pontypridd’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 35,300 people in mid-2024, 8% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Pontypridd?
The median age was 37.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 91% of UK towns. 16% of residents were 15 to 24 and 17% were 65 or over.
Is Pontypridd a student town?
Yes: 14% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (3,654 people), against 8% across Wales’s towns. In Trefforest, 30% of adults were students.
How diverse is Pontypridd?
90% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 95% across Mid Glamorgan’s towns. 8% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Pontypridd?
58% said they had no religion and 33% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 1.3% were Muslim and 6.3% didn’t answer.
Is Pontypridd good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Families are most common in Glyn-coch & Ynys-y-bwl (30% of households). Schools are on Pontypridd’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Pontypridd?
3,797 residents aged 3 and over, 12%, 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.