Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales has a population of 11,867.
A town with more to fix than most. Its lowest grade is for health (D): 7.6% of residents report bad or very bad health, and 22.6% are disabled. Jobs and pay trail most towns: the mean household earns £43,374 a year. Cost of living is its strong suit — homes sell for a median £198,995, about 4.4 times local household income. The overall grade comes out at D, #28 of 32 in Mid Glamorgan. It comes out better than 7% of UK towns. Getting around depends on the car (D): on the way to work, 9% walk, cycle or take a bus or train.
Figures: prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years · health, Census 2021 (the grade adjusts for age) · income, ONS · claimants, DWP · commuting, Census 2021.
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 Sarn 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 Sarn is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Cadw lists 67 buildings inside Sarn’s built-up area, 4 of them Grade II*, and 1 scheduled monument.
22% 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 Sarn.
One GP practice serves the town. The nearest A&E to Sarn is Princess of Wales Hospital, 1.9 miles away. 78% of people in Sarn rate their own health good or very good.
| Census 2021 | Sarn | Mid Glamorgan | Wales |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good or very good health | 78% | 77% | 78% |
| Bad or very bad health | 7.6% | 8.2% | 7.1% |
| Disabled (Equality Act) | 23% | 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.
Sarn’s four primaries and one secondary have 2,267 pupils between them. Two of them are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Pupils | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brynmenyn Primary SchoolLargest primary schoolPrimary | Primary | 411 | – |
| Coleg Cymunedol Y DderwenLargest secondary schoolSecondary | Secondary | 1,249 | – |
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 21% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
About 13% of its commuters stay in Sarn for work. For every resident in work, Sarn has 0.9 jobs. Walking ranked second among ways to work, at 5%.
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Sarn counts 67 listed buildings on the national list (Cadw): 4 Grade II*. For its size, Sarn has more listed buildings than any other town in Mid Glamorgan. Homes from before 1919 make up just over a fifth of the total, below Mid Glamorgan’s towns (47%) and Wales’s towns (27%) alike.
Cadw list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
Police recorded 833 crimes inside Sarn’s built-up area in the 12 months to August 2026, plus 115 reports of anti-social behaviour. Violence and sexual offences made up 54% of the total. Burglary and damage come to 9.4 per 1,000 residents a year.
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 private rented sector houses 13% of households. Private rents average £763 a month across the Bridgend council area. Social housing holds 18% of households, about level with Wales’s towns (18%) and above Mid Glamorgan’s towns (15%).
| By type | Median | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Detached | £310,000 | 153 |
| Semi-detached | £199,497 | 198 |
| Terraced | £163,500 | 172 |
| Flat or maisonette | £115,000 | 17 |
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Sarn has a median age of 41.4. 18% of residents are 65 or over, lower than both Mid Glamorgan’s towns (20%) and Wales’s towns (21%). Degrees are held by 28% of adults.
51% women, 49% men
About 94 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
| Sarn | Mid Glamorgan | Wales | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 15 | 17% | 17% | 17% |
| 15–24 | 10% | 11% | 12% |
| 25–44 | 27% | 25% | 25% |
| 45–64 | 28% | 27% | 26% |
| 65+ | 18% | 20% | 21% |
| No qualifications | 24% | 24% | 20% |
| Apprenticeship | 5.8% | 5.3% | 5.6% |
| A levels or similar | 17% | 16% | 17% |
| Degree level | 28% | 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 Sarn. Best known first.
Castle · CadwCastell Coety2.3 km outside town, to the southeast
Castle · CadwY Castell Newydd2.9 km outside town, to the southTheme parkTheme parkBridgend Minature Railway500 m outside town, to the westArt galleryArt galleryNolton Art Gallery3.5 km outside town, to the southMuseumMuseumCefn Junction2.9 km outside town, to the westPhotos: each place’s Wikidata image, from Wikimedia Commons under the licence below (our copy, resized).
67 listed buildings in Sarn.
Maendy: Photo: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Calcining Kilns and attached abutment at Tondu Ironworks: Photo: FruitMonkey · CC BY-SA 3.0
6 notable people were born in Sarn.
Gareth Thomas: David Cameron and Gareth Thomas.jpg: ukhomeoffice derivative work: User:Tsange, CC BY 2.5
The nearest built-up areas, from ONS’s 2022 boundaries. See them on the map →
| Town | People | Miles | Overall | Cost | Safety | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sarn | 11,867 | — | D | B | C | D |
| Pen-y-fai | 2,301 | 1.2 | — | C | A | C+ |
| Bettws | 2,237 | 1.9 | — | B+ | C− | D |
| Llangeinor | 1,016 | 2.2 | — | B+ | B− | D |
| Bridgend | 51,751 | 2.4 | C− | B− | C− | C− |
| Cefn Cribwr | 1,379 | 2.9 | — | B | B+ | D |
| Pont Rhyd-y-cyff | 1,481 | 3.6 | — | B+ | B | D |
| Pencoed | 9,119 | 3.7 | C | B− | C+ | C− |
Pen-y-fai, Bettws, Llangeinor, Cefn Cribwr and Pont Rhyd-y-cyff have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
67 on Cadw’s list, 4 of them Grade II*. That is 2.3 times the typical UK town for its size. It also has 1 scheduled monument.
Surface water isn’t included. Check a specific address on Natural Resources Wales’s flood risk service.
About the middle for its size: 53% of the 645 UK towns of 10,000 to 50,000 people report less crime per resident. Against all UK towns, most of them smaller, it grades C. Burglary was rare, with 14 reports in the year.
Homes cost less than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £198,995, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £115,000, terraced houses £163,500, semi-detached houses £199,497 and detached houses £310,000.
Town in Mid Glamorgan, Wales
Sarn is a built-up area of 11,867 people, in the Bridgend 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.
