Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
13,352 people call this town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales home.
The data are hard on it. Health outcomes fall short of most towns: 9.6% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 25.6% are disabled. Cost of living is its strong suit (B+): homes sell for a median £128,000, about 3 times local household income. Put together, the subjects come to a D overall, ranking #23 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. That leaves it better than 10% of UK towns. It also trails on safety (D) — 47.1 violent and sexual offences and 12.2 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Only 24% of UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people have more crime per resident. Jobs & income is weaker too (D) — households earn a mean £38,645 a year, and 3.2% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits.
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 · income, ONS · claimants, DWP.
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 Porth 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 Porth is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 27 buildings inside Porth’s built-up area, 6 of them Grade II*.
72% of its homes were built before 1919, against 15% in the typical UK town.
Explore the history →Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Porth.
One GP practice serves the town. 74% of Porth’s residents described their health as good or very good at the census, below Mid Glamorgan’s towns (77%) and Wales’s towns (78%) alike. Disability touches just over a quarter of the town’s population.
| Census 2021 | Porth | Mid Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 74% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 9.6% | 8.2% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 26% | 23% | 22% |
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · ONS, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Young towns look healthier on these answers, which aren’t adjusted for age; the Health Grade uses measures that are, such as life expectancy.
Below are two of them, each with why it was picked. Porth’s four primaries and two secondaries have 2,453 pupils between them. Two of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ysgol G. G. LlwyncelynLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 354 | – |
| Porth Community SchoolLargest secondary schoolAll-through | All-through | 927 | – |
Porth logged 1,133 reported offences in a year (to August 2026), plus 200 complaints of anti-social conduct. For its size, Porth records more crime per resident than just over three quarters of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people. There were 16.9 anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 residents (not graded), above both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (9.3) and Wales’s towns (10.4). Violence and sexual offences were 52% of the crimes.
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.
Porth counts 27 listed buildings on the national list (Cadw): 6 Grade II*. It has 20 listed buildings for every 10,000 residents, higher than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (8) and Wales’s towns (18).
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Social housing holds just over one in ten households, below both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (15%) and Wales’s towns (18%). Private tenants account for a fifth of households. Owners make up 68% of households.
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £265,000 | 27 |
| Semi-detached | £156,250 | 76 |
| Terraced | £123,000 | 342 |
| Flat or maisonette | £73,000 | 5 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 20% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
There are 0.5 jobs in Porth for each resident in work. 14% of commuters who live in Porth also work there. After the car, walking came next, for 7% of commuters.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town. Typical age in Porth: 42.7, the median. 16% are under 15, below Mid Glamorgan’s towns (17%) and close to Wales’s towns (17%).
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Porth | Mid Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 16% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 11% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 27% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 20% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 28% | 24% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.4% | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 22% | 28% | 31% |
ONS Census 2021 · Mid Glamorgan and Wales: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
Museums, castles, gardens and days out in and near Porth. Best known first.
MuseumRhondda Heritage Parkin town
MuseumPontypridd Museum2.5 km outside town, to the eastMuseumMuseumPaul Kirner's Music Palacein townMuseumMuseumUniversity of South Wales Art Collection Museum4 km outside town, to the southeastAttractionAttractionOld Bridge2.6 km outside town, to the eastPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
27 listed buildings in Porth.
Lower Eirw bridge: Photo: GerritR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Church of St Paul: Photo: Dave Kelly · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Cymmer Independent Chapel (also known as Hen Capel Y Cymmer): Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Public Library: Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0
51 notable people were born in Porth.
Daniel Evans: Kastrel, Public domain · Jeffrey Weeks: Mark McNestry, CC BY 4.0 · Lorraine Barrett: 21stCenturyGreenstuff, CC BY 3.0
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Porth | 13,352 | — | D | B+ | D | D− |
| Wattstown | 1,105 | 1.7 | — | B+ | D | D− |
| Tonypandy | 17,209 | 1.9 | C− | B+ | C− | D− |
| Tylorstown and Pontygwaith | 3,551 | 2.4 | D | A− | D | D− |
| Tonyrefail | 11,443 | 2.4 | D | B | C− | D |
| Ynysybwl | 4,580 | 2.6 | C− | B+ | C+ | D |
| Gilfach Goch | 1,531 | 3.2 | — | A− | C+ | D− |
| Hendreforgan | 2,445 | 3.2 | — | B+ | C− | D− |
Wattstown, Gilfach Goch and Hendreforgan have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
By type: flats £73,000, terraced houses £123,000, semi-detached houses £156,250 and detached houses £265,000.
27 on Cadw’s list, 6 of them Grade II*.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
Town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Porth is a built-up area of 13,352 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.