Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.072% of households live in a terraced house, more than in 99% of UK towns
Nine in ten residents describe themselves as White British across Wales’s towns, against 96% in Rhondda. Households in detached houses: 8% of the total. At 41%, the share of adults who have never married is higher than in 91% of UK towns. There were 5,854 households in the town at the 2021 Census, home to 13,271 residents.
What the Census says about Rhondda’s people
More with no religion than most
61% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 32% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
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.
+1% since 2011: slower than 82% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Rhondda’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 13,300 people in 2011; 13,400 in 2024.
By age, the 65 and over group changed most (+9%) and the 16 to 29 group least (−8%). The biggest one-year rise was mid-2023 to mid-2024, 120 people.
Rhondda is younger than 67% of UK towns: a median age of 42.3
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
Just over one in ten residents are aged 15 to 24, about the same as across Wales’s towns. Residents aged 65 and over: a fifth of the total.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Rhondda, 42.3. 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.
6.6% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, below 91% 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%.
By its share of full-time students (6.3%), Rhondda is above 87% of UK towns. For residents who moved in within the year, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 9.1%.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Smaller households than 65% of UK towns: 2.2 people on average
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: 33%, above just over three quarters of UK towns. The share of shared households of unrelated adults stands at 2%.
25% of households have no car or van, more 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
Households in flats: 8.3% here and 14% across Wales’s towns. For households without a car or van, the comparison across Wales’s towns is 21%.
In Rhondda, 2.1% of residents were born outside the UK, fewer than in 99% of UK towns
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
Nearly a fifth of those born abroad arrived in 2017 or later, against 23% across Wales’s towns. Against that, 7.4% of residents were born outside the UK across Wales’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in the Middle East and Asia (0.8%) and in EU countries (0.6%). Higher than in 93% of UK towns: 99% of residents have English as their main language.
Rhondda: 12% of residents speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
Asked in 2021, 1,514 residents aged 3 and over, 12%, said they can speak Welsh; across Welsh towns, 16%: more than in 51% of Welsh towns. Pontyclun leads Mid Glamorgan with 20%.
A higher share of residents with no religion than 99% of UK towns, at 61%
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: 96% of Rhondda · Mid Glamorgan’s towns 95% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
32% of residents describe themselves as Christian; across Wales’s towns the figure is 43%. Residents with no religion make up 47% across Wales’s towns. After White British, the most common groups are Mixed or multiple (1.4%), Other White (0.7%) and Indian (0.3%).
Married adults and civil partners: 40%, a lower share than 90% 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
Students and young renters account for much of that. In Rhondda, just over one in ten residents give unpaid care. 41% of the town’s adults have never married or formed a civil partnership and 40% are married, against 38% and 43% across Wales’s towns.
23% of adults have a degree-level qualification
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
Degree-level qualifications cover 23% of adults in Rhondda, 31% across Wales’s towns; 27% have no qualification, against 20%. A levels top the qualifications of 16%, many of them students on the way to a degree.
406 UK towns of 9,000 to 18,000 people: this is the 118th youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
The youngest is Aberystwyth (25) and the oldest Sidmouth (60.4). Nearest to Rhondda in age: Milford Haven (42.2), Desborough (42.3), Birtley (42.4) and Bourne (42.4).
A younger town than 2 of the 7 around it: Rhondda
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rhondda | 13,271 | — | 42.3 | 20% | 27% |
| Ferndale | 4,301 | 1.7 mi | 45.4 | 24% | 26% |
| Tylorstown and Pontygwaith | 3,551 | 1.8 mi | 39.6 | 17% | 27% |
| Treorchy | 7,645 | 1.9 mi | 44.2 | 22% | 26% |
| Maerdy | 2,843 | 2 mi | 41.7 | 21% | 27% |
| Tonypandy | 17,209 | 2.2 mi | 40.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Wattstown | 1,105 | 2.5 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 31% |
| Nant-y-moel | 2,378 | 3.1 mi | 41.3 | 18% | 28% |
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 Rhondda’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. Rhondda’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 13,271 people in 2021, against 13,271 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 Rhondda’s residents
What is the population of Rhondda?
The 2021 Census counted 13,271 people in Rhondda’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 13,400 people in mid-2024, about as many as in 2011.
What is the average age in Rhondda?
The median age was 42.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 67% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 20% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Rhondda?
96% 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 Rhondda?
61% said they had no religion and 32% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6% didn’t answer.
Is Rhondda good for families?
27% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Schools are on Rhondda’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Rhondda?
1,514 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. 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.