Health lags: nearly one in ten residents report bad or very bad health, and 24.8% are disabled. Rhondda grades D overall, better than just over a tenth of UK towns. That places it #21 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. It lags on jobs & income as well (D): households earn a mean £38,394 a year, and 3.7% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. Where it does best is cost of living — a typical home costs £125,000 and rent runs £754 a month.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · 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.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within Wales), ordered by how far Rhondda is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Rhondda.
Health
Lifespans in Rhondda run shorter than in 94% of UK towns
Disability touches a quarter of Rhondda’s population. Asked at the census, 74% of residents of Rhondda said they were in good or very good health. The nearest A&E to Rhondda is The Royal Glamorgan Hospital, 7.6 miles away.
74%good or very good healthD−Health Grade
General health, self-reported
Good or very good 74%Fair 16%Bad or very bad 9%
Census 2021
Rhondda
Mid Glamorgan
Wales
Good or very good health
74%
77%
78%
Bad or very bad health
9.4%
8.2%
7.1%
Disabled (Equality Act)
25%
23%
22%
75
life expectancy at birth, men (2019–23)
80.4
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 · These shares come straight from the census, without allowing for age, and young towns benefit; the Health Grade instead weighs age-adjusted measures, including life expectancy.
Schools
9 state schools in Rhondda
One of them is below, with the reason it’s listed. Between them, eight primaries teach 1,266 pupils in Rhondda.
Welsh Government · schools list · Wales publishes no school-level results, so its schools have no letters.See all 9 schools →
Safety
Violence is recorded more often in Rhondda than in Mid Glamorgan’s towns or across Wales’s towns: 42.3 per 1,000 residents a year
In the 12 months to August 2026, police logged 1,043 crimes and 128 reports of anti-social behaviour inside Rhondda’s built-up area. Homes saw 13 burglaries and acts of damage per 1,000 residents a year, above Mid Glamorgan’s towns (10.3) and Wales’s towns (10.7) alike. Also worth knowing: of all the crimes, 52% were violence and sexual offences. For its size, Rhondda records more crime per resident than 71% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people.
42.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 29% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people: more 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 & sexual539
Public order167
Damage & arson96
Other theft59
Vehicle crime42
Other crime42
Burglary28
Shoplifting25
Anti-social128
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.
42.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
13
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
12.2
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.
HousingCost of living grade B+
More households rent privately in Rhondda than in Mid Glamorgan’s towns or across Wales’s towns: 21%
12% live in social housing, lower than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (15%) and Wales’s towns (18%). From September 2023 to August 2026, 404 homes sold inside Rhondda’s built-up area at standard prices; the middle one went for £125,000. The owner-occupied share of households is 67%.
£125Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Rhondda£125K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£258,750
32
Semi-detached
£150,000
45
Terraced
£120,000
324
67%
of households own their home · Wales 65%
21%
rent privately · Wales 17%
£754
average private rent a month, Rhondda Cynon Taf council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Work & commuteJobs & income grade D
Household incomes in Rhondda are lower than in 97% of UK towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 16% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Home was the main workplace for 16% of workers at the census. 36% of commuters travelled under 5 km, near Mid Glamorgan’s towns (35%) and lower than Wales’s towns (41%). Jobs per working resident: 0.5.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
History
Old homes shape Rhondda: 77% were built before 1919, more than in both Mid Glamorgan’s towns and Wales’s towns
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Rhondda counts 8 listed buildings on the national list (Cadw): 2 Grade II*. Relative to its size, Rhondda keeps 6 listed buildings per 10,000 residents, below both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (9) and Wales’s towns (18).
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Who lives here
Fewer people in Rhondda hold a degree than in Mid Glamorgan’s towns or Wales’s towns: 23%
Young adults of 15 to 24 account for just over a tenth of the town. Children under 15 make up 17%, close to both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (17%) and Wales’s towns (17%).
42.3median age
RhonddaMid GlamorganWales
Ages · share of residents
12%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications27%
Apprenticeship5%
A levels or similar16%
Degree level23%
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
WomenWalesMen
About an even split. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
Leanne Wood: National Assembly for Wales, CC BY 2.0 · Rob Page: Jonesy702, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jill Evans: Foto-AG Gymnasium Melle, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Jayne Ludlow: BCLFC photographer Jaskirt Dhaliwal, CC BY 2.0 · Gemma Evans: Katie Chan, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chris Evans (British politician): Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0
Wattstown and Nant-y-moel have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Rhondda
Is Rhondda expensive to live in?
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £125,000, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: terraced houses £120,000, semi-detached houses £150,000 and detached houses £258,750.
How many listed buildings are there in Rhondda?
8 on Cadw’s list, 2 of them Grade II*.
Does Rhondda flood?
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
About Rhondda
Town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Rhondda is a built-up area of 13,271 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
Population
13,271 (Census 2021)
Council
Rhondda Cynon Taf
County
Mid Glamorgan
Region
Wales
Area
1.1 sq mi (2.8 km²)
ONS code
W45000504
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.
