Photo: Jaggery · CC BY-SA 2.0More terraced houses than 99% of UK towns: 72% of households
7.2% of households live in a detached house, against 24% across Wales’s towns. Census figures put married adults and civil partners at 39% in Tonypandy. With a median age of 40.3, Tonypandy is younger than 79% of UK towns. At the 2021 Census, 17,209 people lived locally, in 7,424 households.
What the Census says about Tonypandy’s people
More with no religion than most
62% of residents answered “no religion” in 2021 and 30% Christian, against 47% and 43% across Wales’s towns. Ethnicity & religion ↓
Fewer people than in 2011
ONS mid-year estimates put Tonypandy at 17,600 in 2011 and 17,200 in 2024, down 2%, against 4% for Wales: slower growth than in 91% of UK towns. Since 2011 ↓
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.
Tonypandy changed by −2% from 2011 to 2024, slower than 91% of UK towns
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Tonypandy’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the town.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 17,600 people in 2011; 17,200 in 2024.
Change by age ran from +11% for the 65 and over to −12% for the 16 to 29.
A young town: 12% of residents are 15 to 24
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
By its share of residents aged 65 and over (19%), Tonypandy is below just over two thirds of UK towns. 50–54 is the most common age band: 6.8% of residents.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Tonypandy, 40.3. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
51% women, 49% men
About 95 men for every 100 women. Across Wales, 51% of residents are women.
In Tonypandy, 6.5% of residents lived at another address a year earlier, fewer than in 92% 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%.
6.3% of adults are full-time students; across Wales’s towns the figure is 8%. By way of comparison, 9.1% of residents lived at another address a year earlier across Wales’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
Tonypandy sits above 72% of UK towns for households with dependent children (30%)
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.
Compared with 32% across Wales’s towns, 31% of households are one person living alone here. 2.2% of households are unrelated adults sharing a home, a lower share than in 60% of UK towns. Across Wales’s towns, the share of households with dependent children is 27%. On average, 2.3 people share a household.
Above 87% of UK towns: 25% of households have no car or van
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
Where 14% of households live in a flat or apartment across Wales’s towns, Tonypandy has 7.1%. Across Wales’s towns, the share of households without a car or van is 21%.
Only 2.9% of residents were born outside the UK in Tonypandy
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
The two biggest birthplaces abroad are in EU countries (1.4%) and in the Middle East and Asia (0.7%). The benchmark for residents born outside the UK across Wales’s towns: 7.4%. Residents whose main language is English are more common here than in 76% of UK towns. Born abroad and arrived since 2017: 21% of that group, against 23% across Wales’s towns.
Tonypandy’s residents: 9.2% speak Welsh
Welsh language skills, residents aged 3 and over, Census 2021.
Welsh language skills · residents aged 3 and over
1,531 residents, 9.2% of those aged 3 and over, said they can speak Welsh at the 2021 Census, against 16% across Welsh towns: fewer than in 77% of Welsh towns. In Mid Glamorgan, Pontyclun has the highest share (20%).
Residents with no religion make up 62% in Tonypandy, 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: 96% of Tonypandy · Mid Glamorgan’s towns 95% · Wales’s towns 90%.
Religion · all residents
96% of residents describe themselves as White British; across Wales’s towns the figure is 90%. The usual figure: 47% of residents said they have no religion across Wales’s towns. The census found that 30% of residents describe themselves as Christian in Tonypandy.
In Tonypandy, 42% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, more than in 93% 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
Just over one in ten residents give unpaid care, against 10% across Wales’s towns. Set beside that, 38% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across Wales’s towns. The number giving 50 or more hours of unpaid care a week is 777.
Degree-level qualifications: held by 20% of adults
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
At degree level, Tonypandy counts 20% of its adults, against 31% across Wales’s towns; at the other end, 29% have no qualification (20%). A levels are the highest qualification of 16%, many of them students still working towards a degree.
From a median age of 33 in Ystrad & Llwynypia to 42 in Tonypandy East
The town’s 4 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Tonypandy East is the oldest area, with 20% aged 65 or over; Ystrad & Llwynypia the youngest (median age 33). Families with children are most common in Ystrad & Llwynypia (40% of households).
56th youngest of 336 UK towns of 12,000 to 23,000 people
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Aberystwyth is the youngest (25); Sidmouth the oldest (60.4). Nearest to Tonypandy in age: Hersham (40.3), Carmarthen (40.3), Adwick le Street (40.4) and Connah's Quay (40.4).
Tonypandy sits below 4 of its 7 closest neighbours on median age
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonypandy | 17,209 | — | 40.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Gilfach Goch | 1,531 | 1.8 mi | 38.9 | 18% | 32% |
| Wattstown | 1,105 | 1.9 mi | 38.9 | 17% | 31% |
| Porth | 13,352 | 1.9 mi | 42.7 | 20% | 25% |
| Tylorstown and Pontygwaith | 3,551 | 2 mi | 39.6 | 17% | 27% |
| Rhondda | 13,271 | 2.2 mi | 42.3 | 20% | 27% |
| Hendreforgan | 2,445 | 2.2 mi | 41.1 | 19% | 31% |
| Tonyrefail | 11,443 | 2.6 mi | 41.8 | 19% | 30% |
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 Tonypandy’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. Tonypandy’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 17,206 people in 2021, against 17,209 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 Tonypandy’s residents
What is the population of Tonypandy?
The 2021 Census counted 17,209 people in Tonypandy’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 17,200 people in mid-2024, 2% fewer than in 2011.
What is the average age in Tonypandy?
The median age was 40.3 at the 2021 Census, younger than 79% of UK towns. 12% of residents were 15 to 24 and 19% were 65 or over.
How diverse is Tonypandy?
96% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 90% across Wales’s towns and 95% across Mid Glamorgan’s towns. 2.9% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Tonypandy?
62% said they had no religion and 30% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 0.6% were Muslim and 6.2% didn’t answer.
Is Tonypandy good for families?
30% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 27% across Wales’s towns. Families are most common in Ystrad & Llwynypia (40% of households). Schools are on Tonypandy’s schools page.
How many people speak Welsh in Tonypandy?
1,531 residents aged 3 and over, 9.2%, 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.